Mass Effect: Shepard's Choice
by doowop13579
Summary: The Reapers are fast approaching and it is up to Shepard and his best friends to rally the galaxy. Who can he trust? Who will he turn to? The Shadow Broker? Mercenaries? What will become of his relationship with Tali? Read to find out.
1. Prologue

Captain's cabin, 2 hours prior suicide run

Commander Alex Shepard stood by his work terminal up in his quarters, examining the schematics of the collector base. He was looking at the datapad but his mind was elsewhere, thinking about his previous talk with Tali.

"_Don't worry Shepard, I'll find a way to make this work." Tali put her three fingered hand on his. But he just stood there, unsure of what to say or do._

"_Shepard, are you alright? If you don't want this, just tell me."_

"_Tali, you know that I love you and I'll do anything for you." Mustering all the strength he had "I just don't know what to say, but I want both of us to be happy."_

"_I'm glad to hear that, I'll do the necessary research before we-"_

"Bridge to Commander Shepard, ETA to the Omega 4 relay is 2 hours." Joker's voice sounded over the intercom

"You sure know how to break my thoughts Joker. Maybe EDI should shut you up."

EDI's figure popped up on the console, "Reasonable suggestion Commander, if you want, I am able to disable communication between the captains quarters and the cockpit."

"Thank you EDI, but that won't be neccasary", he flicked the image off, and resumed studying the schematics, this time focused on it. He was in fact so focused on it that he did not hear his door slide open.

"Erm, Shepard, I have taken some herbal supplements, and... anti-biotics that should bolster my immune system." THe sound of Tali's voice made Shepard instinctively turn around. _So she was serious about this_. "I was going to bring music" she took the OSD from his hands and put it on the table, "but I didn't know what you like… and I'm so sorry, I'm babbling again like an idiot."

"It's ok Tali," pressing one finger against where her mouth should be, "It's your choice, you don't have to if you don't want to"

A quick nod from Tali allowed Shepard to lead her to the bed where the two of them sat , just looking at each other akwardly. Shepard decided to make the first move and started activating the lock mechanism for Tali's face mask.

"It's just that I'm worried if this will work, what if –" there was a small hiss as Shepard carefully removed the mask. As if both of them were frozen in time, they did nothing but stared at each other. Shepard took his time to admire the beauty that was locked behind the mask for years but the same person who had faced the impossible, looked death in the face and spat at it, did not have any idea how to continue.

Without warning, Tali jumped onto him, locking her lips with his, not stopping until they had to breathe.

"I never thought this day would come. I mean, I've been with you through Noveria, Ilos, Saren, Horizon. But I never had the courage."

"Really? Since then? That was so long ago." slowing running his fingers through her dark brown hair.

"I suppose. It was just that, at that time I never knew you well."

"As long as you're happy, I'm happy."


	2. Post Apocalyptic

Collector Base, Suicide run commencing

_Commander Shepard made the jump, thinking to himself "shit! Shit! SHIT!"_

_Thankfully, he managed to clear the jump, grabbing on to nothing except the ledge of the Normandy. Tali wasted no time pulling him up while Garrus returned fire at the collectors. Once he was safely onboard the Normandy, he just locked his eyes with Tali, as if saying "I told you we would make it." While Joker rushed toward the cockpit, gunning the engines as EDI voiced the countdown out loud. The fight with the human-reaper had taken most of their escape time, not to mention the fact that the entire team was knocked out cold by the falling platform. Shepard held on to the railings in the cockpit as Garrus and Tali held on to the hand-holds in the CIC._

_Starting off slow the Normandy picked up the pace as Joker desperately hit the controls. The Normandy weaved in and out of debris as they exited the pickup point. Finally exiting the base Joker heaved a sigh of relief, but celebrations were cut short as EDI matter of factly reminded them that they would still be caught in the blast radius._

_Too late. A silent explosion behind them occured as debris was shot off in semi-random directions. Unfortunately a large piece knocked into the left wing of the Normandy, destabalising it. Inside the entire ship rocked and Shepard was torn away from the railings, his head slamming in to the low ceiling of the airlock, knocking him out._

* * *

Normandy SR2 medical bay, 4 hours after suicide run

Shepard sat himself up as soon he could, only to find himself lying on a med-bed. The next thing he saw was a wide grin spread across Doctor Chakwas' face. "You were lucky Tali saw you collapse. You had a pretty bad knock to the head."

Her grin slowly faded, worrying Shepard down to the core. "Tali, on the other hand, has multiple suit breaches during the course of the mission. We have patched them up and fixed her visor. She won't be going fighting anytime soon, although she is fit for light duty such as walking around the Citadel or Illium. Lastly, both of you are confined to quarters for the rest of the day. Since both are you are up I suppose you can go. One more thing, I suggest Tali not do any running, it could complicate matters."

"Alright, I'll be leaving now, thanks doc." Tali followed suit and walked with Shepard to the elevator, his arm around her waist. As they walked past the mess hall, he noticed Miranda was at one of the tables drinking a cup of cold coffee. Seeing that only the three of them were around, she started to speak.

"I'm not sure why you like that Quarian," directing the question at both Tali and Shepard. "All they are are beggers and thieves, there's nothing about them that has much value."

Once again another fight that Miranda chose to pick. There was always friction between the two, ever since they met on Freedom's Progress. Once again after recruiting Tali into the team. At that time Miranda insisted that Tali would sabotage the Normandy, especially because she was situated in the engineering deck, next to the drive core. Still, Shepard remembered their first real argument.

"_Shepard will never like you" Miranda stated matter-of-factly "We all know that him and I are of the same species, while YOU can't even kiss him without the risk of dying."_

"_What gives you the right to say that! All Cerberus has ever did is make people's lives harder than they already are." anger rising up in her_

"_For starters it's the fact that you call everyone you don't like a Whatever in hell THAT is" starting to glow blue with biotic power._

_Luckily Shepard had arrived to break the argument, telling both of them to back off, avoiding a brawl between biotics and tech powers._

Shepard glared back at Miranda; she doesn't seem to get along with anyone. First, the argument with Jack over what Cerberus had done, now even Tali was not spared by her cold, bitter and expressionless voice.

"Miranda, when will you ever stop critisizing Tali? Don't tell me you're jealous.", raising an eyebrow. And for once, an unknown expression spread over her face. Normally her expression, if any at all, was either angry, annoyed or unhappy, usually over something anti-cerberus.

"Whatever" was all she could say before staring blankly into the diluted, cold coffee.

"Go up and rest first, I need to talk to Joker and Garrus, maybe a few other people too" Shepard turned to look at Tali before she stepped into the elevator.

_Some suicide mission… good thing everyone survived, even Legion, who volunteered to crawl through maintanence ducts just to get the locked door open._

Shepard thought to himself while walking towards the forward batteries. Garrus was calibrating the weapons as usual, turning around only after he heard the door open.

"Shepard! I'm so glad you're up and well. I can't believe I had to help Tali drag you over to the med lab." Garrus chuckled to himself. "Anyways, I heard something from Jo-", he hesitated for a moment "Nevermind"

"Garrus, what is it, start spilling" Shepard crossed his arms infront of him.

"Nope, can't make me. My lips are sealed."

"I'll buy you drinks when we get to the Citadel"

"Dammit why am I so buyable. I heard from Joker that, how should I phrase this." Garrus paused for a moment, deliberately choosing the words so that he wouldn't anger Shepard and forfeit his drinks. "Is Tali officially sleeping in the Captain's quarters now?"

Shepard could almost feel a lump in his throat. He paused a moment before finally saying something "Well, that is half true. I'm not too deep into this yet, last thing I want is a Quarian-Human child while fighting Reapers." his sense of humour returning. "Do you want to sleep there too? I have a couch."

"NO! No, wasn't what I meant. Ah well, I suppose you do know how to watch yourself. I better fix up those weapons, after heavy use the cannons could use some tuning."

Shepard turned around and proceeded to take the elevator up to the CIC. As he neared the cockpit, he heard the all so familiar sounds of Joker and EDI arguing.

"Mr Moreau, I advise you should not push the Normandy beyond its maximum speed"

"Hey, who's the one with years of piloting experience? I flew us out of that exploding hellhole by the way." he turned around to see Shepard crossing his arms angrily. "Oh commander, you needed to talk?"

"Hmmm, can I start with 'Who has been circulating videos from my cabin's security cam about me and Tali'?" Right on cue, Joker's face started to turn pale.

"Well, erm, about that… I'm sorry, I thought that, well, the crew should, *ahem* know."

"Mr Moreau, it is advisable that you do not dig into the commander's private matters. Based on his record, you have a 40% chance of breaking 14 bones."

"Oh shut it EDI,", waving a hand which just passed through the hologram.

"Either way, I need you to set a course for the Citadel. As much as I dread it, I need to give these reports to the council." With that, Shepard spun around, leaving Joker and EDI to continue arguing.

Dark space, past known boundaries of Milky Way

"The collectors have failed us once again" Harbinger's "voice" swept across all the reapers that amassed for the meeting.

"On the first occasion, they failed to take care of Shepard entirely. Now not only has their armada been destroyed, Shepard has entirely destroyed the Collector base."

"Harbinger, it was your idea of repurpose the protheans to be collectors. What if we just repurpose another race to fight for us. Surely our methods of indoctrination are far beyond any species' understanding and comprehension", this is it was Overlord who spoke.

Overlord was another reaper that had certain features of prothean and turian technology. He was tasked by Harbinger to lead the assault on the Citadel ever since Sovereign's failure to do so.

"The collector base was not just a tool to stage an attack. It was a method in which we can enter and exit the Milky Way without slowly moving through dark space. I suppose we can discuss this another time. Either way, they will never know what hit them."


	3. Spectre Status Up Your Ass

Presidium, Citadel

Anderson was a man with simple needs. Give him an office, direction on where to get food and drink, and he would be happy. He never asked for an office for a nice view, but after what he had done to help Shepard fight Saren, it was the least the council could do.

He stood by the balcony, arms folded in front of him, on the ledge. He stared at the great lake that was before him. He still remembered what that krogan had asked, "Do you think there's any fish on the presidium?" He chuckled to himself.

"Anderson?" came a voice from behind.

He spun around, looking at the group. _One turian, one drell, one human. Mercs…_ On instinct he pulled out his sidearm and shouted, "Identify yourselves!"

The group stopped, but the human still walked forward, and he saw part of a quarian helmet. _Why would a merc group contain a quarian… unlikely, but still with the mercs. Why aren't they shooting?_ The human stepped close enough to see details on his armour. N7.

He put his sidearm down "Shepard?" he put one hand on his shoulder. Then he took a closer look at the others. "Garrus? Tali? Is that you? It's good to see you again."

"I got your message, Anderson. Sorry I'm a bit late. I was a little busy this week destroying the collector base."

"Wait, are you telling me you already went through the Omega 4 relay and back? In this case I have to call a Council meeting."

Shepard put on a frown.

"What's wrong?"

"I never get along well with the council. But we have to in order to get their help for the reapers. I suppose you can call it now."

Emergency Council Meeting, Council Chamber

Crowds of people turned up for the meeting after hearing that Commander Shepard would be involves. Although the current Council consists of an Asari, a Salarian and a Turian, many Krogan, Humans were at the spectators' seats.

"Anderson, what is your reason for calling this council meeting?" The Turian Councillor asked impatiently

"With all due respect sir," he replied as sarcastically as he could, "Commander Shepard would like to show us information regarding the reaper threat."

The sheer mention of Shepard made the crowd go wild with cheering, whistles and other means.

"Silence!" this time the Salarian spoke "Anderson, are you saying the reapers are real?"

"Sure as hell they are" Shepard touched the OSD in his pocket that contains scans on reaper technology, weapons, structure, etc

"That is no way to talk to the council, being a Spectre, we expect you to-" and the Turian was cut off by Shepard.

"I said it before and I can say it again." He repeated it slowly "You. Can. Take. That. Spectre. Status."

"and shove it up our asses." The Asari finished "Yes, I still remember that time." Smiling as she went along.

Normandy SR2, Mess Hall

Jacob was sitting at the mess hall, enjoying his breakfast. Just an hour ago Shepard had ran off to the Citadel to brief the council.

_More like shout at and scold the council_. He thought to himself, _but Shepard is a good man. If he gets into trouble, he'll get himself out._

Just then, Miranda sat just opposite him, eating the same breakfast. Frowning as she ate.

"Miranda, why the frown?" Jacob looked up from his food and at her.

"It's nothing"

"You know what? When you say that, it kind of gives away what you're thinking about. It's Commander Shepard and Tali isn't it?"

"You're smarter than you look Jacob. Maybe you should be a psychologist or something" the usual sarcastic smile returning to her face. "Actually, I've been thinking about it."Jacob listened intently "Tali isn't so bad. She might have that suit and all, but when I talk to her she warm and kind hearted. After all the _Get your hands off Shepard you bosh'tet_"

"Hmmm, so basically the opposite of you. Haha"

That remark earned Jacob a punch on the shoulder.

"Maybe I should go apologise to her when she gets back"

With that, she finished up her breakfast and left.

Citadel, two hours into Council meeting

"And that," Shepard pointed to the amassing reapers "Is why we need your help."

"Thank you Shepard. I know you have shown us the scans, and even had a Drell to recall perfect memories. But can you give us something to keep? A copy of the scans, weapons technology, the blueprints of the reaper structure perhaps?" The Salarian inquired, extremely fast.

"Yes. All of it is in this OSD. And I have three so you don't have to fight." He grinned to himself as he passed an OSD to each one of them.

"Thank you. We will inform you once we have developed a strategy to fight the reapers. You may leave." But before the Asari was finished, Shepard was already out the door.

After everyone had left, the three councillors, together with Anderson, had a quick discussion.

"This cannot go on!" The Turian exclaimed "We cannot trust Shepard this quickly. What if he's lying? What is he's making this up just so he can get our attention?"

"That is not true," this time the Salarian spoke "Based on the brief scan I have initiated to verify the authenticity of this data, the results show that the collector base was scanned by the Normandy SR2. There is no doubt that this data is real."

"That aside, Shepard has done a lot, and we owe him a great deal." The Asari chimed in "Even after Saren and Sovereign, you didn't trust him. You can at least trust him now after he has lead a team through the Omega 4 relay and back. We need to do something about the reapers, and we need to do it quick."

"I propose a plan," the Salarian beamed with pride "I will lead the science and research team to develop a counter measure for reaper indoctrination. Anderson, you will lead the Alliance to produce ships equipped with the weapons that Shepard suggested." Anderson gave a quick salute before leaving

"Novernia (Asari Councillor), you will need to rally the people so that they will be willing the help us with this threat. Finally, if you are willing to help, I need you to lead small recon teams to scout for any hints as to where the reapers will come from. Are we all clear?"

After a few nods, they left to carry out their respective tasks, hoping that they will have time before the reapers arrive.

"Sometimes, I really hate this job. I need to work with all these quick trusting people" the Turian muttered under his breath before he too, left the council chamber.


	4. Certain Special Items

****

**If you see this, then you are looking at chapter four. Oh what rubbish am I saying. What I meant was that you're looking at the new update**

I don't have a lot of free time so I'll update this maybe once every 3-4 days?

Also it would be nice to have people REVIEW, yes click the review button up there, because that lets me know what else I can write about. I have some good ideas but I could always use more

Thanks :D

* * *

Citadel, docking area

"Tali, Garrus, could you two go back to the Normandy to wait for me? I need to pick up some items." Shepard asked.

The reply of "No" and "Yes" came at the same time.

"Alright, who really must follow me?" Garrus's hand shot up "Fine"

"Tali, go back to the Normandy and wait for me."

Then Shepard turned to face Thane "You know how to make your way to C-Sec right?"

"Yes. I am very happy to be able to talk to my son again." With that, he turned and left, blending in to the crowd.

"So, Garrus, why did you insist on following me. I thought Tali would be the one to do that" they started walking deeper into the Citadel

"Very funny Shepard. I just wanted to know what 'special items' you needed to pick up"

"You'll see. Just remember, they aren't for you"

"Awww, that's so sad"

Shepard walked to a taxi station and hailed a cab

* * *

Normandy SR2

"Ah, Tali, I needed to talk to you. Come see me at my office" Miranda turned and left.

Tali felt her stomach lurch. The last time Miranda invited her in for a "talk" it turned out to be a violent argument. But still, she couldn't ignore a fellow crew member. It could be important.

She walked over to the elevator and hit the crew deck button. She could hear the motor start up as it descended. _Shepard should install some music into this thing._ The elevator rides were usually long and boring, even if you only needed to go up or down one floor.

Finally the elevator stopped at its designated position. She nervously walk past the mess hall and over to Miranda's office

The door slid open to reveal Miranda sitting at her desk, typing away at her terminal.

"Ah, Tali, come in. Have a seat" she motioned to a chair opposite her and quickly saved the document.

"Whatever you need to say, say it quickly" Tali said as she sat down.

"Oh really? Maybe after you listen you would wish that I said it slower for you to hear. Nevertheless, I called you in for a very special reason. It is regarding our previous," she paused to nervously clear her throat "arguments. I pulled you here, because I wanted to apologise."

Tali smiled, thankfully it was hidden by her mask or Miranda might have just blown up. But she just said "Uh huh. But for what?" clearly trying to push her luck.

"You see, I have thought about what Shepard and Jacob have said. I figured both of you will be happier without my disruptions. In other words, I'm quite happy with you being together with Shepard"

Tali never thought she would see this day. She always thought that beneath Miranda's cold expression was an even colder heart. Maybe she isn't that bad after all. She extended a hand for a handshake while saying "Don't worry, all that misunderstanding is behind us now." And Miranda took the hand and shook it.

Neither of them knew it, but Jacob was standing just outside her office, arms crossed over his chest and smiling away.

* * *

Citadel, food and consumables department

"Shepard, why are you asking direction on where to find Turian cuisine? I'm the only turian on board"

Shepard didn't reply, still walking toward the purple holographic image of Avina, the citadel guide AI.

"Commander Shepard, Turian consumables are to your right, down the hall way, then to your left"

"Thank you" he replied before following her instructions

"Shepard, you still haven't told me why you are doing this. If the Turian food isn't for me, the why the hell are you buying it?" but Shepard still continued walking "I'm the only damn Turian on this ship!"

Now Shepard stopped and turned to face Garrus "Now who said it has to be for Turians" before walking into the store that Avina has located

"Don't tell me you're going to try and eat it. Celebrations can involve drinking, partying and all that but don't try something stupid" that's when realisation hit him "It's for Tali isn't it?"

"What took you so long? For a moment there I thought you were going to call Mordin to figure that out for you"

The store keeper motioned for him to step up in line to order his food.

Garrus looked behind him before turning back to Shepard "Shepard I think you should look behind you"

"Not now Garrus!" he realised the store keeper was waiting for him "Oh I'm sorry. Yeah, I'll have the fish and a bottle of wine, thank you"

* * *

Dark space, Reaper's current gather point

"My brothers, this waiting has gone on for too long. Today, we will start our journey towards the Milky Way. Today, we will complete our mission of wiping out all sentient race! Today, we shall enslave another species to be under our control!" Harbinger's loud voice boomed across space. All reapers who heard it cheered.

"I have found a way. A star in the outer rim is dying. Using the dark energy it releases when it explodes, we can go straight to where the star is."

To any sentient life form, their "talking" would be nothing more than silence, at the most a slight ultrasound. They communicated by thinking rather than audible sounds. They could hear each other's thoughts, they could think what others thought. No matter how loud Harbinger shouted or screamed, nobody would hear it. The only time sentient life could actually hear reapers is when they directly control a person with the ability to talk.

Up to now, Shepard and his team were the only ones to witness Harbinger "talk"


	5. Inevitable Confrontation

Citadel, food and consumables department

She was tired of waiting. She was tired of hoping that he will come and see her. So she decided to see him. With the help of the Citadel's AI Avina, Ashley Williams managed to track Shepard all the way to the Food and Consumables section.

_What the hell is he doing there? Doesn't the Normandy get stocked with food regularly?_

She stormed down the hallway, boots clanking hard on the metal floor. Those who were in her path made the right decision and stepped aside. She looked at her Omni-tool. _According to the coordinates, he's in that store._

She looked up at the signboard "Best Turian cuisine in the Citadel"

"What the fuck?" she said audibly, gathering many stares from other people, both human and turian alike. "Argh," she rubbed her temples. _What the hell! Either he's got a death wish or he REALLY likes Garrus._ Just as she thought of Garrus, she noticed a Turian in dark blue armor turn and glance at her before tapping a heavily armored man in front on the shoulder.

_That has got to be Garrus. The human must be Shepard._

She walked closer before she could hear the human talk

"Oh I'm sorry. Yeah, I'll have the fish and a bottle of wine, thank you" as he picked up the plastic bag.

Shepard turned around to see what Garrus wanted "Yes Garrus, what is-" he faced a slim, female human. He cocked his head to the left before he realised who he was facing.

"Ashley? Is that you?"

She didn't reply. All she did was use her hand to motion Shepard to follow her. They came to a dark alley before she spoke,

"What the hell Shepard! I've been waiting for you at the lounge for one whole hour! And now you show up here buying Turian food for God knows who! Please tell me that was for Garrus!"

"I'm sorry. It's just that, I got caught up explaining to the council what the reapers are like and all that sort of stuff."

"Yeah, I knew that only after I asked Anderson where you were." Now her tone changed, "I was so worried. That you'd never turn up. Because you didn't reply my message I thought that you might be dead… Anyhow, what's the food for? Tired of living already?" she was back to her sarcastic tone.

"Oh, that? That's for Garrus. Decided to treat him, that's all"

"Wait, I thought you said you wanted that so you could have dinner with Ta-" Shepard put a hand on his mouth

"Ah, good old Garrus. I wonder where he gets his stories from" but one look at Ashley said that she didn't buy it.

She crossed her hands over her front and put on the angriest face she could "Shepard, whats going on?"

Garrus pulled Shepard's hand from his face "You see, Commander Shepard has been erm," he paused to look for a suitable word "he has been 'involved' with Tali. You know, the hot Quarian down in engineering"

"Nobody asked you Garrus" and lightly hit is shoulder "You see,"

Ashley interrupted him "Betraying me once isn't enough for you?" she fumed angrily "When I was on Horizon, I thought you were really working for Cerberus. After that, I found out you actually told the Illusive Man to 'go to hell'. And I actually laughed at that." Her tone changed to one that was somewhat more sad, "You had to do it again? All the making me angry?" Ashley wanted to be really really angry. She had a right to but it all came out in sadness.

"I figured that when all this is over," she wiped her tears with a free hand. "I might be able to be with you again." Now she shouted "I can't believe you would backstab me! After all I've gone through! After all I've worried for! Is this how you treat your friends!" She lifted a fist, ready to lash out at any moment. But she knew she couldn't. It wouldn't solve anything. He wasn't the problem. She processed a few thought, some good some bad before letting her hand drop. She stepped forward, towards Shepard.

He thought she was going to kiss him. _Oh this might be hard to explain_. But instead she hit him on the cheek with the angriest slap she could manage before turning and walking away while Shepard just stood there, trying to take in all that had just happened before lifting a hand to his face.

Normandy SR2 

"Shepard! Are you alright?" Tali noticed the large bruise mark on his right cheek. Shepard had already told Garrus to take the food up and prep his cabin for dinner.

"Yeah, I'll be alright", he comforted her.

"Shepard, don't lie. What happened? Did you get into a fight at the bar? Why do you have a big bruise on your cheek?"

"Tali, I'll be ok. I just happened to meet Ashley at the Citadel. She wasn't too happy that I'm with you so she hit me, hard."

"I'm so sorry Shepard. I didn't know she could hit that hard… I thought only Grunt could do that. Maybe Doctor Chakwas may have some ointment for that."

"Don't worry about it. For a moment there I thought she would shoot me, knowing how violent she is. She figured it'll be better if she slapped me on the cheek."

"Why did she do that? Its not like you did her any wrong. From what I heard _she _was the one who scolded you on Horizon."

Shepard stepped one step back from her, deciding he didn't want to be to close to her in case she was angry at whatever he was going to say. "Remember back in the first Normandy. The time before Ilos? Remember how you couldn't find me?" Shepard refused to state it explicitly. He was hoping Tali could add two and two herself.

"Oh..." Tali mumbled so softly that Shepard couldn't tell her tone "I just hope you're not doing this just because you don't have her."

"No, I'm not. I promise you that. Its just, at that time, I" Shepard fumbled for words "I was stressed. I wasn't thinking straight."

"Give me some time." Tali turned away from him and walked into an already waiting elevator, taking some time to think about all this. It was new to her, there was sadness and anger. Betrayal? She wouldn't call it that. Her only assumption was that Shepard was saying the truth. She could trust him that much. She just didn't know how she should react. It was true that Ashley did make advances towards Shepard. It was true that Shepard was under a lot of pressure at that time. Sovereign was attacking the Citadel and only he could stop it. Was that a really good reason? Not really. Would she forgive him? Most likely.

2000 hours, Normandy SR2 Captain's Cabin

"Oh, hi." Shepard looked up from his barely touched food as Tali walked into his quarters. "Are you still mad?"

In response Tali walked towards Shepard and flung her arms around him, pulling him into a hug before whispering into his ear. "I forgive you enough."

Pulling herself away Tali looked at the plates of food on Shepard's table. "Well, I bought you dinner. But I thought you were too angry to come and eat. The room is sterile, if you still want to eat."

"I'd love to." Tali replied as she released the locks on her mask.


	6. An Evening You Have Forgotten

"What do you mean when you say that our research facility in sector 269 has been destroyed?" the Illusive Man sat in his chair tapping his cigar against an ash tray.

It was one of the very few times people could meet the Illusive Man in person. Usually it was either through a communications line or through a very advanced holographic projector if he really needed to talk to the person face to face. The only people who managed to talk to him in person were Miranda Lawson, the Head Scientist and his personal secretary.

"I'm not very sure. We lost contact with them at approximately 2200 hours yesterday." Head Scientist Nelson was busy typing at his omnitool "At 0100 hours today, an emergency relay was activated, signifying that the facility was damaged beyond repair. We sent out a two man scouting party at 0300 hours. The scouting party was also destroyed. Here's the final audio" he pressed a few buttons before an audio log started to play

_"What the hell is that thing?"_

_"I'm not sure. Bring us in for a closer look"_

_"Alright, we're going in. Hey! Damn, controls are unresponsive!"_

_"Evasive maneuvers! It's firing, hurry we-"_

The Illusive Man thought about it for a moment, taking into consideration that the star they were studying was dying. Althought there was no direct relation, there could always be assumptions and suggestions and the ever infamous _theories. _Finally he said "It's the Reapers. They're here. Or some of them at least."

* * *

Normandy SR2 Captain's Cabin

Shepard woke up to the feel Tali's hands moving on his chest. Shepard sat up to find himself completely naked. "Why am I on the floor?"

"That's interesting, maybe I should ask you" he heard a soft voice come from next to him.

"Oh Tali, you're up."

She slowly sat herself up against a wall. "Well, THAT was an interesting night."

"What? What happned?"

"Oh Shepard don't play dumb."

"Wait. Let's start again. I had dinner with you, and I wake up naked on the floor. What exactly happened?"

She slowly got up and reached over to her environmental suit "The greatest night of my life and you don't even remember it? Shepard," a concerned look in her eyes "you really don't?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't remember it?" Shepard put on a large grin, and a pair of undershorts as he let out a short laugh.

"Gee, you scared me for a moment there." Tali stood up with some help from Shepard before slipping into her enviro-suit. She pulled the hood part over her head and fastened all the clasps and lock before re-fastening her mask. With the same quickness she managed to step back into her boots and looked almost as if she was ready for battle.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" Shepard pulled on the default shirt Cerberus had provided him.

"I have to get back to my duties. I have a ship to maintain, whether you like it or not."

"Ah well, I have other stuff to do. Maybe signing papers, maybing authorising activities and other things that have red tape attached."

"Looks like our work never ends."

"Not until tonight..." Tali said suggestively as she walked with Shepard toward the elevator.

"I see what you mean. Maybe I'll grab some food first."

Illium

"I've given up." Liara said to herself.

"There's nothing more to do. The Shadow Broker has just, dissapeared. The collectors are gone. But the reapers?" She questioned no one in particular.

"I suppose I'll do what I do best, looking for ruins and all the other knick knacks Shepard found interesting too."

"I wonder if there are others daring enought to go out into uncharter space. Would I dare? I would, if there was someone else I could go with."

"Saria!" Liara called out to her new secretary. In a few moment she walked in, greeting Liara before sitting down. She too was trained in tracking down people, and she was good at it.

Liara checked her computer for files she might have on ex-explorers, adventurers, pilots, mountaineers and the like. After a while she came up with a list of names and handed it to her assistant. "Can you check up on these people? Find out where they are. Tell them I'm assembling a team of explorers and persuade them to join. Do not bother if they are not willing. It will be better working along side those who really want to and not because they're forced to."

"Alright. Will you be leaving soon?"

"Only when I've assembled a reasonable team. I most likely won't be coming back anytime soon once I leave."

"Then may I suggest that once you return, you might want to help the council in their fight against the reapers. I heard your former captain, Commander Shepard is looking for all the help he can get."

"Reasonable suggestion. Now, if you would excuse me, I have some work I have to clear before I leave."

After Saria left Liara stood up and walked toward a wall where her medal of honour hung. It was given to her by the Citadel Council after the fight with Saren, for her bravery despite the circumstances. Those were the good old days, fighting alongside Shepard even thought death hung around every corner. She had heard from her sources that Shepard was back, from the collector base. Maybe she would help him, in her own special way, with the things she did best. Investigate the reapers, know your enemy, save the galaxy. Sounded like Shepard's list of to-dos.


	7. More Citadel Business

Normandy SR2

"Commander Shepard, you received a message from Ashley saying that she needed to talk to you." Kelly said in her usual business like manner during Shepard's normal routine of checking the ship. He had just making sure Mordin had everything he needed and that Jacob had most the weapons back in pristine condition and was about to head to the cockpit when Kelly stopped him.

"Oh great, more whacking. Do I really need to go?"

"To be specific, she wanted to talk to Tali. She will be meeting you in the Dark Star"

"That, may or may not be so good. Ask Garrus to meet me here in five."

"Already done commander." Kelly ended the conversation by walking off toward the elevator

"Meeting with Ashley again?" Garrus came up in the elevator that brought Kelly down. "She seemed to settle down pretty fast."

"Thats what I'm worried about. She specified to meet Tali. Thats why I asked you to join in case things get rough."

"Shouldn't you be able to handle her yourself? You out size and out power her easily."

"You know Ashley, smart, devious and cunning. Shot Wrex before I could talk him out of killing me."

* * *

Citadel, Dark Star lounge, right outside private room 2B

"So, what do you intend to do? You know, with this short moment of peace." Shepard sipped his drink lightly, leaning on the table with his arms. They had managed to grab a table still within sight of the private room Tali and Ashley wre in.

"I don't know. We're pretty stuck in the middle of nowhere in this reaper stuff. We're not in a crisis, but we don't know when we will be."

"That's pretty good I'd say. The Citadel would get some time to prepare. Races would get time to build up armies."

"Yeah but all this sitting around and waiting. I just, I suppose I just don't like sitting and waiting for something to happen. I"m a person of action." Garrus took a gulp of his drink

"W'll get some soon enough. The reapers are bound to send scouts and all that. If sovereign almost blew up the Citadel, a few scouts would pose a relatively big problem. By the way, what do you think they're talking about?"

"Well, I suppose it's the usual stuff" he finished the rest of his drink "You know, stuff like 'Oh I saw Shepard first so he's mine' or somehing like that" trying his best to imitate Ashley's voice

"Right…" Just at that moment, Shepard's omnitool flashed, indicating an unread message. He opened it to see that it was from Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. It read:

_Dear Shepard,_

_I have analysed the data that your geth platform has sent me. I have had scouts go to Rannoch to check if Legion speaks the truth. They have reported back, saying that the geth are really living in space stations and asteroids. They have run a planet scan concluding that about 87% of the plant and animal life have survived our previous war and that most of the damage done due to our violence has been cleared away by the geth._

_Also, they have reported that despite the fact that they came dangerously close to the geth, they did not open fire. When asked why, they said that the geth have come to a consensus to stop all violence between the geth and their "creators"._

_If possible, I would like to see both you and Tali aboard the Neema sometime soon if that is possible._

_Regards,_

_Shala'Raan vas Tonbay_

"Hey Garrus, take a look at this" just as he was about to show Garrus the message, he heard a shot ring out from inside the room. "Forget that, time to move."

Both Shepard and Garrus had their sidearms at ready as Garrus activated the door controls. Just as the doors were opening, he saw Tali throw an empty glass into the air and Ashley shot it with her pistol.

"We heard gunshots, whats going on?"

"Ashley was showing me her skills, she's actually a good shot" Tali's words were slurred and stuttery. Shepard glanced over to the table and saw a whole lot of empty glasses.

He lowered his pistol, "Alright, who drank how much?"

"Well, who knew the Quarian had a thing for drinking?" Ashley's voice was still crisp and clear. Obviously she didn't drink much. "I had three glasses and she had," she stopped halfway "Oh you can do the math"

He started counting. "One, two, three, four… seven, eight, HOLY SHIT!"

"Technically, she drank ten. I shot two glasses." She twirled the pistol with her hand.

"Now, before I drag her back to the Normandy. Could you at least tell me why you called her here?"

"I just needed to talk things out with her. Not violently of course. But now I need to have a word with you."

"Yes?" Shepard replied and Garrus took the hint, dragging Tali out of the room, letting the auto-door close behind them.

"I'm really sad Shepard. And angry." And she gulped down the rest of her forth drink.

"Anything else? The Ashley I know seemes to have a lot to say. Especially after our previous conversation."

"Well, I don't know what else to say? I just feel betrayed. Tali a nice girl, even though she seems to drink a lot while angry, but I'm just wondering. Why?" Ashley looked at Shepard longingly, hoping he would come back to her, although she knew that Tali would just take her position.

"I don't know Ashley, I don't want to hurt your feelings but at that time, I just wasn't sure of myself. A lot was going through my mind before Ilos, I wasn't thinking straight."

"But would you have wanted to stay with me? If you had to really choose?"

Shepard rested his right elbow on the table as his hand held up his forehead. After thinking a while he looked back at Ashley. "I can't say no without hurting your feeling. I love you Ashley, as a friend. I'm sorry if it didn't turn out the way you wanted. But if you want to know, I still care. I forgave you even after what you said on Horizon. I didn't care, I knew you were just working on your emotions."

"Alright Shepard, alright. You better get Tali back to the Normandy, I think she had one to many drinks."

"Thanks Ashley, for understanding."

Ashley nodded in return before Shepard stood up and exited the room. Walked to where Garrus was stading to help drag the quarian who was slumped a chair just outside. Garrus gave him a hand and they supported Tali back to the Normandy, stopping only to let Tali rest and puke.

_Ewww, if they're in the suits, where does the puke go? Maybe I shouldn't answer that._

Ashley still sat in the room smiling to herself. She finally got what she wanted. Answers. The initial anger had gone, there was even a hint of happiness. If you really love someone, you would care what happened, as long as the person was happy. She got up and walked out, stopping only to tell the waiter "Send the bill to Commander Shepard aboard the Normandy."


	8. Shepard, Whats This?

Normandy SR2, Captain's cabin

_Uhh, what happened?_ Tali was lying down on her side, facing a desk and a clock. _Where am I? What is this place? _She tried to get up but a hand pressed on her shoulder. She looked towards the hand and saw Shepard.

"Shepard! What happened? Why am I here? What's time." she pushed his hand away and sat up

He sat down on the side of the bed, next to her "It has been two days already. Seems that Quarians don't take well to alcohol. You were drunk after having ten drinks with Ashley. Then you just passed out, for a day or two. Hasn't what happened to me taught you anything?" He said jokingly.

She put a hand to her head, rubbing her temples before realising she didn't have her helmet on, nor her suit, but she was in plain clothes.

"Shepard? Why did you take off my suit?"

"Mordin talked to me before I brought you to the medical bay. He said that after looking through the scans, your immune system is at 72%, humans being 100% benchmark." He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder "He gave you some meds before carrying out his 'test'. Which will be you having plain clothes instead of the suit."

She took a while to take in all the information. When she finally did, she grabbed Shepard and gave him a long hard kiss.

Shepard returned it, hugging her tightly as if he was going to lose her. Suddenly, a loud resounding beep interrupted the couple.

Shepard turned to see that it was an incoming call from the council. He turned to look back at Tali's face, "I'm sorry, but duty calls."

Now that her helmet was off, Shepard could see the sad look in her eyes. But she reluctantly complied.

As he took the call from the council, or to be exact, the salarian council member, he mentioned one last thing, "Mordin said that you can roam around the ship but no going beyond the airlock. He also mentioned that you should go and see him for a check-up when you are free."

"I'll be alright, you better take that call."

Tali walked around his room, now realising how spacious it was. She walked towards his working desk which was what she saw when she just woke up. She slowly examined all the antiques on his table.

There was a revolver on the table. _By the looks of it, it must be ancient._ Tali picked up the revolver and realised that it still used gunpowder. She gently set down the pistol. Behind her she could hear Shepard talking.

"Ah yes, so you are saying you know how you of a weapon that can defeat the reapers?"

She ignored his conversation with the council's chief scientist and opened one of the drawers under the table. She never had the chance to look around like this. When she was in his cabin they were either discussing matters regarding the Normandy or making out with each other.

She slowly pulled the drawer out and saw that it was filled with random items. One particular item interested her. She picked up the piece of rubber and started investigating.

_It looks like one of those rubber bands I heard about. But why would it be in such a private place? Oh, it can be unrolled. It looks like a balloon now. Maybe I should ask him._

"Shepard!" she called out to him "Do you know what this is?" she lifted the now unrolled piece of rubber into the air for him to see.

"Tali, I'm busy! Go ask Garrus or someone else." He replied without turning away "Oh I'm so sorry. I was talking to someone else. Yes you were saying?"

Tali let out a small sigh and dragged her feet over to the elevator.

She hit the crew deck button and the elevator started dropping. Technically it was late at night but here in space, people slept when they were tired and worked when they weren't.

So nobody except the mess sergeant was there when Tali walked towards the forward batteries. But he was reading his book and didn't notice she was there until the door to the forward batteries closed with a hiss.

Garrus turned around to face Tali

"Tali? Is that you?" Garrus turned to face her "What's with the death wish?" he joked

"Very funny Garrus. Mordin said that I don't have to wear my suit inside the Normandy. He said that because of the few times that Shepard and I were erm," she tried to look for a suitable word "together, my immune system has adapted to the Normandy's interior. I still have to wear my suit outside though..."

"Don't worry," Garrus put a hand on hers, realising how smooth a quarian's skin was "I'm sure someone will find a way. Anyway," he let go of her hand, returning to his formal self "Why did you come down?"

"Oh! I almost forgot," she pulled out the piece of rubber and showed it to Garrus, "Do you know what this is? Is it a rubber band people used on Earth a long time ago?"

Garrus carefully examined the item with his claws, careful not to break the thin rubber. After a while of staring, examining and wondering, he came up with a question of his own.

"Are you sure it isn't one of those party balloons human use for decoration?"

Normandy SR2, research laboratory

"Tali' Zorah, how may I help you" Doctor Mordin Solus looked up from his work. It was one of the very few times he maintained eye-contact with the people he spoke to. Normally he would talk while doing research.

"Do you know what this is?" she showed him the small piece of rubber, now unrolled because Garrus didn't know how to roll it back.

"Ah yes, simple contraceptive device developed by humans" he replied, extremely fast as usual

"And that means?" Tali cocked her head to one side

"That means it can prevent people from getting pregnant"

"I'm still not so sure how this thing works..."

"Alright, hold on" he walked over to her ear and whispered something. (I can't tell you what he whispered. Doctor patient confidentiality :D) In between sentences she nodded her head. After a while she began to grow nervous and pulled away.

"I think I know enough..." she blushed as she started to walk out.

"Wait! I have one more thing to tell you!" he shouted at her "It's on a different topic! Well, slightly different at least!"

"Yes? What is it?" she walked back towards his work desk.

Mordin tapped in a few commands into his terminal and drew up a status sheet. He began to interpret the data. "According to the recent scans, blood test, etc, etc. It shows you have a stark increase in protein. In fact," he proceeded to read the lower part of the test results "all of your nutrition levels are surprisingly high. That means that your body is storing up nutrients.... hmmm."

"Are you saying that I'm fat?" Tali was about to get angry.

"Oh, no, nothing of that sort. Hold on a moment please" he proceeded to bring up a document relating to quarian physiology and biology. He stood there staring at the screen, thinking.

"According to the test results and this medical sheet." He broke the deathly silence "You are pregnant."

Normandy SR2 captain's cabin

"So you are saying that obsidian, when sharpened, can actually cut through the thick hide of the reapers?" Shepard asked the floating hologram.

"Yes, in fact, when super heated, the obsidian will be able to do more structural damage. While the obsidian cuts the outer layer, the heat will be dispersed into the inside of the reaper, possibly killing it. However, making such a weapon will be costly." The salarian councillor/head scientist explained.

"What about making a bomb with obsidian shrapnel?" Shepard suggested

"Excellent idea. If packed with enough explosives, it may have the desired effect. I will proceed to have a prototype competed. At the same time, shall I send a copy of the design to the Illusive Man? It seems that Cerberus is more willing to work with non-humans this time."

"It's fine with me. Do whatever you deem necessary"

"Thank you for your time Commander" Were the salarian's last words before he cut the connection. Shepard leaned back in his chair. Just at that moment, his door slid opened and Tali strode in happily.

"Shepard! I finally found out what this is for!" She waved the item in the air. Shepard then realised what she meant by a 'rubber band' or a 'balloon'. _Why the hell do I have one in my desk anyway?_

He was about to say something but Tali cut in "First I asked Garrus but he didn't know it was for. He thought you can blow it up into a decorative item.

Then I decided to ask Mordin. He gave me a slightly embarrassing answer though. But at least I know what it's for now! It may be a bit disturbing but he also told me how to use this." she squealed. "Now I just have one more question" her expression changed from a happy tone to a serious, but not angry, one.

"What is it?" Shepard sensed the seriousness in her words.

"Mordin just finished compiling my test results." She emphasised each word in her next sentence slowly. She lifted the item in the air "Why. Didn't. You. Use. This."


	9. The Big Question

Cerberus Head Quarters

The Illusive Man heard the sound of a man clearing his throat behind him. He motioned with his hand for him to come near. Nelson drew closer to him as he spun his chair around. Nelson then started to speak.

"The council's research team has sent us data concerning the anti-reaper weapon. We have already begun construction of a first prototype and we estimate it will be done by tomorrow. Would you like it to be tested on the reaper that destroyed our facility in sector 269?"

"I will speak to Shepard concerning the data. But get the weapon ready by tomorrow. You may leave." He clicked a few buttons on his chair, sending a message to Shepard's omnitool, requesting that Shepard see him as soon as possible.

* * *

Normandy SR2

"Tali, I'm so sorry! It just slipped my mind. I didn't know such a thing would happen!"

"Shepard, why are you apologizing? Whoever said I was angry at you?" She hugged Shepard, trying to comfort him.

He pulled away, trying to sort things out in his mind "Are you saying you WANTED to have a child?"

"I was hoping for it someday but I never knew it would be under these circumstances. The thing I'm worried about is how we're going to manage this while fighting the reapers." _Damn it Tali, get a hold of yourself. Don't reveal too much._

"If you aren't angry at me for this I suppose we can work something out. Remember that I care for you." He pulled her in gentle, allowing her to rest on his lap "Remember all that I have promised you." Tali allowed herself to remain in his warm embrace, pressing her head on his chest.

From the corner of the room, cloaked and well hidden, Kasumi smiled to herself. _So they finally got over it. Heh, this is going to end well._ She had been watching the couple ever since she had been recruited. She always knew they had a thing for each other but never admitted it.

After a sweet moment of just being with each other, Tali looked up from Shepard's chest and at his terminal, noticing the message sent by Shala'Raan.

"Shepard, what's the message about?"

"Oh, that. Your aunt said that Rannoch is now habitable thanks to the geth. She wants to see us regarding that matter. Speaking of which" he flicked on the intercom "Shepard to Joker, set a course to the Migrant Fleet"

"Aye aye captain. Oh by the way, is Tali in your room?"

"Yes," he tried to sound as annoyed as possible "is there a problem?"

"It's nothing. Just that I'm activating the security cam in your cabin now. Hahaha" Tali started typing at her omnitool, disabling the security camera "Hey, I just lost connection. What the!"

"Now that he's out of the way, nobody will know what we're doing up here. We have time to kill before we reach the Migrant Fleet anyways."

"Well, aren't you a sneaky little girl" before heading into bed with her.

_Who needs video cameras when you can see it firsthand?_ Kasumi leaned against the wall. Watching the two hug and kiss each other. When Tali started to remove her clothing she thought to herself. _Alright, getting in appropriate here, better leave._

As she activated the door, it beeped. _Damn it!_ She thought to herself.

Shepard looked towards the door wondering why it opened. _Kasumi_ He deduced. Nobody would be able to sneak into his quarters except her.

He shouted loudly "Damn you and your tricks Kasumi Goto!" giving Tali a such a fright that she put her shirt back on.

Kasumi only smiled to her continued walking.

* * *

A few hours later at the Migrant Fleet, aboard the Lithia

"It's so good to see both of you!" Shala'Raan greeted Shepard and his small squad. "Ah, and this is the geth you dubbed Legion" she looked towards the synthetic.

Tali was back in her suit because her immune system only adapted to the interior of the Normandy. Shepard gestured at Shala'Raan, indicating 'I want to talk to you separately'.

"Tali, why don't you go and talk to Veetor. He seems better now." And she ran off to talk to other people. Shala'Raan pulled Shepard to a quieter area of the ship before she started to speak.

"Alright. What is it now. First time you come you said you and Tali are in love. Don't tell me she's pregnant now."

"Haha" Shepard feigned a laugh "Funny of you to mention that. I actually wanted to ask how Quarians get married."

"Why are you asking this?" then she noticed the small box that Shepard was carrying. "Oh. You want to marry Tali am I right?"

Shepard blushed "Not so loud! I don't want her to hear."

"Alright, alright. Firstly, the father is supposed to either agree or disagree. Since he's dead the next of kin will take his place. That will be me. It's all quite similar to a human wedding actually. After that it's 'will you take him to be your husband' and all that. Do you actually want to hold a wedding here, today?"

"If it's alright then yes. I will like to marry Tali today." He blushed again. _Two times already! What is wrong with you? The pure mention of Tali and you blush? What happened to the man in you?_

He shook his head and walked toward the plaza, where the discussion on the retake of Rannoch would take place. As Shala'Raan walked up to the podium, she remembered Shepard's request and whispered something to the other Admirals. Shepard heaved a sigh of relieve when he saw then all nodding heads.

Tali crept up beside him, hugging his arm, pressed tightly to his side. "So, what did you and auntie talk about?"

"You'll find out later. You'll find out alright." He gently squeezed the tiny box in his pocket.

The crowd was silent as the Admirals took their positions.

"Today," Admiral Gerrel started, skipping the usual greeting "We are proud to announce that because of this geth," he motioned for Legion to step up to the podium, which he did, "we are now able to re-occupy our home world!" The crowd cheered loudly.

"We also have Commander Shepard to thank," it was Admiral Koris' turn to speak "for without him, we may not be even able to make peace with the geth!" Shepard stepped up to the podium as Legion stepped down.

"But most importantly, we are here for a very important affair." Shala'Raan gestured a hand at Tali, asking her to come up to stand opposite Shepard. Tali shot her a look saying 'what is this all about'.

"Today," she continued, "We celebrate the marriage of Commander Shepard and Tali'Zorah" and the crowd went wild with excitement.

After the excitement died down a little, Shala'Raan continued "Commander Shepard, will you take Tali'Zorah to be your wife?"

"Yes" he replied, trying to control his excitement.

"Tali 'Zorah, will you take Commander Shepard to be your husband?"

"But, we aren't even of the same species," she turned away from Shepard and looked at Shala'Raan, "We have different biology, different-"

"Let me rephrase the question. Tali'Zorah, ignoring difference in species, biology, health system, etc, etc, will you take Commander Shepard to be your husband?"

"Yes! Yes, definitely yes." Her excitement was bursting at the seams.

"Then you are now and forever husband and wife" Shala'Raan smiled beneath her mask.

Legion stepped up to the couple who was now hugging each other tightly. With two hands, he presented the box which Shepard had asked him to hold for the moment.

Shepard took the box, opened it, and showed Tali the ring.

"Oh keelah it's beautiful!" she squealed as Shepard slipped the ring on her, erm, third finger? After which she hugged Shepard tightly and bonked her helmet on his face, apparently trying to kiss him.

Shala'Raan pulled all three admirals away to talk to them in private, away from the couple and all the cheering.

"See? I told you Shepard didn't take advantage of her. Look at how much Tali loves him."

"Your point was never in doubt Admiral. I only questioned the rationality of it all" Admiral Koris retorted.

* * *

Normandy SR2 Meeting Room

Almost half the crew had gathered in the meeting room to watch special footage of Shepard and Tali's wedding. Of course, the only managed to see the video because Joker used EDI to hack into their security cameras.

"You did record it right? The other half of the crew would most likely want to watch it as well." Miranda asked.

"Oh definitely. Wouldn't miss it for the world." Joker replied.

Kasumi stood cloaked at the doorway, chuckling. _So they finally decided to make it official_.

Even Jack, Thane and Samara were there to watch the event. "So looks like the Quarian chick decided to marry Shepard eh?" Jack commented

"It would seem that Shepard made a good choice." Samara added "Tali is kind, funny and warm hearted, not to mention beautiful."

"Oh Ashley's gonna faint when she sees this" Jacob stood at doorway, watching intently "What do you think Kasumi?"

"You... you can see me?" She uncloaked herself and looked at Jacob

"When the door doesn't close, you know someone's there. And the only one who goes around cloaked would be you." Jacob gave her a wide grin and returned to watching the vid.

* * *

Migrant Fleet, Lithia's central plaza

Shepard and Tali were now going around, talking to various people. One person in particular was Kal'Reegar.

"Ma'am, I think you made a good choice. This fine man over here is one hell of a fighter, not to mention a good speaker. Man he really shoved it in Koris' face the last time. Vas Iktomi... HAHAHA!"

"Reegar! You shouldn't talk about an Admiral like that. But actually, it is kinda funny." She tried to contain her laughter.

"Don't worry about it. You have a good man here." He put a hand on Shepard's shoulder "You might want to speak with Veetor over there" he pointed a finger at a young quarian who was actually talking with other people.

But before they could move, Veetor had already seen them.

"Ah, err, Shepard and Tali, err, nice to see you once again" Veetor stuttered

"Veetor!" Tali hugged him tightly, just as tightly as she hugged Shepard. Maybe a bit less. "I haven't seen you for a long time."

"I suppose, err, but I'm still very, umm, very nervous around people"

"Don't worry Veetor, you'll get over it soon enough" Shepard cut in.

"Would Commander Shepard and Tali 'Zorah like to return to the Normandy? We need to make preparation for the jump to our home world." Shala'Raan announced.

"I suppose... What do you think Tali?" Shepard held her hand tightly.

"Well, we have discussed all matters. I suppose we can go back."

Shepard shouted back loudly, trying to compete with the noise from everyone's chatting. "Yes! We are going back now! Thank you!"

There was a final round of applause as the newlywed couple walked back to the Normandy. Shepard stopped only to quietly tell Legion something

"Legion, I want you to get some geth on Rannoch carry out operation H.O.T.H. alright?"

"Affirmative commander. Three geth platforms are already tasked to that operation approximately four hours ago."

"Thanks." And he patted Legion on the back.


	10. First Strike

**Hello once again  
I'll be quite busy these few days**

**Don't worry, I'll continue to write nonetheless**

Normandy SR2

"HEY! Who the hell are you!" Shepard had just got back onto the Normandy after officially getting married with Tali aboard the Neema. He went up to his cabin, hoping to get some 'personal time' with Tali. However, he was greeted by Zaeed Massani.

"You must be Commander Shepard. If you are, standards for Spectres must have gone way down. If you aren't, then screw off, I need to talk to Shepard."

Shepard let go of Tali's hand and raised an eyebrow at Zaeed. "Yeah I'm Commander Shepard. And NO standards have not gone down."

"I'm Zaeed Massani, the guy you refused to recruit all the way until destroying the collector base. I took the liberty of tracking you all the way to the Migrant Fleet and I'll be happy to join the reaper raping campaign thank you." A wide grin spreading across him face.

"Yeah, alright I suppose you CAN help. You can have the room down in engineering." Shepard uncrossed his arms.

"Oh I thought this was my room," he jerked a thumb towards the captain's cabin. "But I suppose I'll settle for a small dirty room." And he stepped into the elevator, disappearing down below.

Shepard's communicator beeped, and a small version of the Illusive Man popped up on the omnitool.

"Shepard, I need you to go to sector 269 immediately. Cerberus has created a few Reaper-Busters for you to test out."

"But why there? There's nothing but a dying sun!"

"A reaper scout destroyed our research facility there. It is now dormant. I want you to make the first strike before it 'wakes' up and starts attacking. Proceed there immediately. A cargo ship will meet you there to attach the weapon to your ship and to pass you extra ammo. EDI has been given instructions on how to use it. Don't fail." And the hologram flickered out.

Shepard walked into his cabin, followed closely by Tali and pressed the intercom "Joker, set a course to Sector 269 now. We're going to kill ourselves a reaper."

"Copy that commander. Reaching there is 10 hours. You better get some sleep."

"You bet I will," glancing over his shoulder to look at Tali, already waiting for him on the bed.

* * *

Early morning Normandy SR2 captain's cabin

Shepard lazily raised one hand up to his face, rubbing his eyes. _That was some well-earned sleep. _He looked over at Tali who was still asleep. _She is so cute when she's asleep like that._

Tali was clutching Shepard's right hand like a security blanket, refusing to let go even though he tried to pull away.

"Shepard, don't go... don't go! I can't lose you again!" she muttered when he tried to pull his hand free. He decided to let it slide and cuddled up with Tali, hugging her with his firm yet gentle grip.

"Don't worry Tali, I'm not going anywhere." He comforted her with his free left hand, gently stroking her back. "Don't worry, we'll all pull through."

About two hours later

"Shepard," Tali shook him gently, "Shepard, wake up. The Cerberus vessel has docked with the Normandy."

"Huh, what, oh alright."

He jumped out of bed, pulling on the top of his uniform and walked towards the elevator with Tali behind him with her full environmental suit on. It wasn't only for protecting the user from germs, but also gave them shields, protection, along with other capabilities such as cleaning functions etc,etc.

As he made his way to the front airlock, a Cerberus agent intercepted him halfway.

"Commander Shepard, these are the Reaper-Busters," he pointed at the big bulky missile which was being loaded into the regular missile launcher system. "And that," he pointed at the big chunk of black metal mess floating in space "is the now dormant reaper. You might want to hit it before it 'wakes up'."

"Donnelly! Get those missiles ready." Shepard shouted over the intercom "Joker, bring us into its Mass Effect envelope nice and slow"

"This is engineer Donnelly, the missiles are armed and ready. We can fire two before having to reload." A Scottish accent was heard over the intercom.

"I have a firing solution ready" EDI's mechanical AI voice came from the cockpit.

"Fire damn it Joker, fire!"

"Missile away commander! Launched just one to see how much punch it does." Most of the crew watched the missile fly away, either from the cockpit, the starboard observation deck or a video relayed from the from cameras.

They watched in silence and suspense. The missile was about to end its long journey.

With a loud audible explosion, the shockwave swept through space, rocking the Normandy back and forth.

"HOLY SHIT! That just tore a big fucking hole in the reaper. Even though it's not dead, it's mass effect field is offline and it's weapons are down. Another shot would kill it entirely!" Joker turned to give Shepard a status report.

"Joker, fire the second missile!" Shepard almost shouted at the pilot.

"Plotting firing solution... and it's away!" Joker replied "Now we just need to wait for the engineers to reload it.

"Ya don't have to wait my man," Donnelly's voice came over the intercom "I figured reloading the first one while waiting would be better."

Yet again, everyone stared in suspense, waiting for the missile to impact its target.

Joker started to feed recordings from the high-impact camera attached on the second missile to everyone's HUD (heads up display by the way).

As the missile impacted the tough reaper 'hide', the Obsidian shrapnel was super heated to tens of thousands of degrees Celsius. The slow motion recording showed the Obsidian glow white hot before cutting through the covering of the reaper, allowing a second explosive to fly straight through and detonate. After which the camera blacked out and Joker cut the live feed.

The entire ship broke out in cheering and applause as the smoke cleared and nothing but scrap metal was left to be seen. Tali cheered and hugged Shepard tightly while he returned the hug.

After a while the cheering on the CIC (go check mass effect wiki if you don't know what that means) died down as almost every crew member was staring at Tali and Shepard.

"Erm, uh, I'm sorry that was very awkward." Shepard let go of Tali and straightened his uniform as she let go as well.

"Well I thought it was cute" Kelly's voice came from behind him "She is your wife after all."

Shepard spun around, "Wait, how do you know that?" he turned back to face Joker "Something tells me you have something to do with this."

"I did 'ya a favour commander. Now you don't have to be so sneaking when you hug Tali or something like that."

"If you put it that way, why the heck not?" and embraced Tali again, now not so awkward, still a bit, but not so. Tali returned the embrace, not caring about what the other crewmembers thought. To her surprise, the entire CIC broke out in cheering.

When he thought it was about time, which would be about five minutes later when people got tired of cheering for him and Tali, he walked over to the intercom.

"_Hello, this is Commander Shepard, and I declare the rest of today and tomorrow shore leave because, my fellow friends, we just earned ourselves our first kill!"_

The entire ship cheered so much that Joker could have swore the ship rocked back and forth for a moment.

"Looks like we might just having a fighting chance in this war." He said quietly to Joker.

"Hell yeah, commander, hell yeah!"


	11. Relighting The Fire

**WOO! I had so much fun writing this chapter**

* * *

Normandy SR2 Docked at the Citadel

"Alright people!" Shepard shouted at the entire crew, all desperately trying to get out the airlock "I have booked half of the entire Flux and 10 rooms at the hotel Nova. About three people to a room, alright?" he heard simultaneous 'yes' and 'got that'

"OK, your shore leave starts NOW" Shepard activated the airlock, allowing people to literally flow out. Of course C-Sec got a bit edgy on letting all 30 Cerberus crew into the Citadel, but Bailey trusted Shepard.

After all of the crew had left, Shepard waited for Tali to come and help support Joker.

"Oh, yeah, thanks for the 'support' and the 'bodyguards'. I'm sure I can't handle myself" Joker rolled his eyes as Tali and Shepard walked beside him.

Almost half of the club was made up of the Normandy Crew. Quite a few poker games were in play, players ranging from Engineer Donnelly to Cerberus officer Miranda.

"Hey, you'll be alright here by yourself? I'm going to go to my room to sort a few things out first." Shepard stopped in his tracks and looked at Tali.

"Yea I suppose, can I come by your room later?"

"Of course. I know you don't drink much and you shouldn't, but maybe you can have one or two dextro-amino safe drinks with the others"

"Don't worry Shepard, I won't get drunk like the last time." She playfully hit him on the shoulder.

"Alright," he turned to look at the Turian standing by the hallway leading to the rooms "Garrus, you got the package?"

"Sure do!" Garrus followed Shepard to his room.

Tali stood there unsure of what to do. She didn't really enjoy poker, and it wasn't really fun dancing alone. She heard someone call out to her, she spun around and saw Zaeed pat a seat next to him, indicating for her to take a seat.

She sat down next to him, still unsure of what to do. Zaeed started to talk first.

"I don't see many Quarians around here. It's nice to meet one. You want a drink?"

"I suppose I'll have just one." She wrung her hands nervously, although not as much as just now.

* * *

Room on first floor of apartments, or was it second?

The thing Shepard liked about these apartments was that the doors were actually made out of wood. It gave a nice warm fuzzy feeling that nobody could actually describe. Shepard counted the numbers and found his room, typing in the number pass code.

As him and Garrus entered the room, and automatic sensor switched on the lights. He quickly scanned the room for a television, finally finding one on the wall.

"We could hook this thing up there" he pointed at the television while Garrus proceeded to unpack the items in the box.

It was an ancient gaming console, the Xbox360, or was it 720? Nah! Gotta be a 360, because it looked ancient. So ancient in face that Shepard had to hook it up to the screen via his omnitool. Apparently ports for HDMI cables didn't exist any more.

Finally setting it up, they sat themselves down on the couch,

"So, Garrus, now we finally see who's the better sniper," Blue words saying 'Halo 3' flashed across the screen.

"I'll beat you 25 to 1." Garrus smiled widely

"We'll see, my friend, we'll see." And he set the weapons to 'snipers only'.

Down at the bar, same time

Kasumi Goto never liked to drink. 'It dulls your senses' she said to many people who offered a drink. What she did like, was to go around cloaked, playing tricks and scaring the shit out of people.

_Ah the many opportunities for a thief to come in and steal everyone's items._ She walked past Joker, snatching his cup along the way.

Joker pushed himself away from the bar, shaking his head. He tried to wake up from his dream but nooo, he had to see a cup disappear from his hands.

He got off his chair and walked to the washroom muttering "I think I had one too many."

Kasumi giggled to herself and set the glass down on a table. He saw Jacob dancing with Miranda. _They seem to be very 'distracted'_. She slipped over behind Miranda, about to say something when Jacob interrupted.

He stopped dancing with Miranda all of a sudden and said "Kasumi, I wonder how many times it will take you to realise that it doesn't work."

_Dammit, Jacob seems to have an eye for even the slightest shimmer. _Kasumi thought to herself before uncloaking, thus allowing Miranda to see what had just happened.

Now it was Miranda's turn to exclaim "So you were staring at her!" and gave him a slap on the face.

"Alright... that was awkward. Want to dance?" he put a hand out to Kasumi.

"Maybe, I was bored anyway." She immediately sensed an opportunity to beat him at his own game. After dancing a while, she suddenly cloaked and slipped away.

Jacob suddenly realised that he was dancing with no one. He scratched his head thinking. _Alright, I didn't see that one coming!_

* * *

Shepard's room approximately 0900hours

"Ugh, major headache" Shepard woke up on the couch, game controller surprisingly still in his hands. He looked around the room. Garrus was still asleep next to him, and Tali wasn't there.

"Hmm? I thought she said she would come up?" he looked towards the screen, the console had put itself into hibernate so as not to burn out. He put the game controller down on the table and walked across the haphazard wires.

He opened his door and closed it again. _AHHHH my eyes!_ He slowly opened the door this time and let his eyes adjust to the sudden sunlight. He stepped out to the corridor, trying his best to look for Tali.

After a quick search of the club and nearby areas, he decided he'd go back to him room. _Maybe Tali had already fallen asleep in someone else's room. Well, nothing wrong with that._

As he was walking back to his room when he met Zaeed along the corridor. His senses were already back up and sharp.

"Hey, Zaeed, have you seen Tali anywhere?"

"Ah, you talking about the Quarian engineer?"

"Yeah, you saw her?"

"Of course, takin up all my bed space when I wasn't looking."

Shepard glared at him hard before Zaeed finally understood what Shepard was referring to and raised his hands up innocently.

"Hey, I did nothing. Wouldn't think of taking your girl."

Shepard nodded towards him as he walked into the room. He entered just in time to catch Tali who was stumbling her way toward the door. Shepard helped her out as he questioned Zaeed again. He just hard this certain dislike toward the new guy.

"How much did she drink?"

"Only two glasses."

"Two glasses of what? I've seen her drink ten as still feel better."

"Well, I can't be too sure. I just offered her a bit of what I was having."

"Sure?"

"Yes. I swear by it."

"Damn you then." Shepard shoved him before he picked up Tali and started the long painful journey back to the Normandy.

"Hey! What was that for? That wasn't at all necessary."

"Go take bio or something. You don't even need to! Even the bartender knows that."


	12. Two Betrayals

Engineering deck, Normandy SR2

Shepard had gone down to engineering to check on things, make sure Grunt wasn't banging windows with his head and to see how many were back from shore leave early.

Engineer Donnelly had followed Shepard back to the SR2 after the little 'incident' at the club apartments. His friend Gabby was still enjoying her day off.

"How's Tali? Still under shock?" Donnelly turned to talk to the Commander.

He looked at the ground "No," he looked back up at the engineer "I hope not." Shepard walked away from them and took the lift up to the third floor. Peering through the large glass window of the Medical Lab he could see Tali still in her environmental lying on one of the beds, unmoving. Shortly after he had collected her in the morning she threw a few fits as a result of the anaphylactic shock.

_Zaeed you dumbass. Always check the drink._

Medical Lab

Tali woke up lying down in a medical bed. She could feel herself being strapped down. She put her head up to see Doctor Chakwas engrossed in her own work.

_Good, _She thought to herself, _I don't need her strapping me back in again_.

She slithered one hand out of the restraints and slowly unbuckled the straps, not wanted the doctor to notice. After getting one done, she sat up and used two hands to unbuckle the next one.

She slowly placed her feet down on the floor, trying to make as little noise as possible with her boots. She prepared her omnitool to feed a program into the door. The program would open the door, close it 1 second later and lock it for 1 minute.

She slowly slid her way over to the door. When she was sure she would make it, she activated the program. As expected, the doctor turned to see who had come in, or go out. But she was too late. She only saw the door slid shut and lock itself.

_Well, if she could do that… then she must be fine._ She ignored Tali's escape and went back to work. Mordin needed a status report in a few minutes.

She decided she would go to Shepard's Cabin and think about what happened. She activated a cloaking module on her omnitool that Kasumi had given her. She quietly walked past a few crew members and took the elevator to the top.

After reaching Shepard's Cabin, she stepped into the shower and stripped off her environmental suit. She enjoyed the feel of the warm water on her slightly bluish skin. _I'm sure he wouldn't mind me using the shower. After that day on the Neema, his cabin is now our cabin._

She tried her best to recall recent events on how she ended up back in the Normandy while on shore leave.

"_You want a drink?"_

"_I suppose I'll have just one." She started to wring her hands a bit less._

_She took the drink and fed it into her environmental suit. She was out cold in less than a few minutes._

"_Shepard? Don't leave." She said almost in audible as she found herself on a nice comfy bed. Watching a man walk out the door. She stumbled over once as she tried to cordinate her hands and feet, walking slowly toward the door despite the lack of handholds. It was a unseen place and she felt as if the world was closing in around her, probably because she had drunk too much. She wasn't really sure how much she had drunk. You don't really remember things when you're drunk. Or do you?_

_A few more blank moments and she saw Shepard come into the room and help her out. Once outside she could see Shepard talking to Zaeed. So the 'Shepard' she saw wasn't Shepard? But Zaeed?_

The first thing Tali thought was. _Did I do anything wrong?_

At the point where she just woke up her brain wasn't right for logical reasoning. Now she could reason. She had her environmental suit on when she woke up, and she's the only one (besides Shepard) who could actually take it off.

Maybe she just did drink too much. Tali was just so used to thinking of the worst case scenario. That was why to her, Shepard's love was more that slightly underserving. Throughout her life, since birth till pilgrimage. Since Quarians weren't held in high regard, even now, she was always taught with a certain mindset, that one never deserves anything. As part of her nature Tali also loved to question. Was all this really worth it? Was she worth Shepard's time?

Tali let the water run over her, giving her a certain warmth, allowing her to feel more comfortable, as if she was held on by the water. Personally she was very unacustomed to the luxury Shepard had in his room and his room alone. There was so much space, so unlike life on the flotilla.

_What am I exactly doing all this for? Time with Shepard, yes I get that warm feeling inside. But is it practical? _Tali questioned her self once more, althought this time is was more of self thought _Will this last? How long will it last? What if he stops loving me? The concept of love, its so foreign, to me as a Quarian. Or is it? This might sound as ridiculous as it is, but if I love Shepard, and Shepard loves me. What can go wrong? Nothing? But this was built on a strong foundation, their previous friendship._

_You silly girl, Shepard's of good nature. He doesn't treat promises so lightly. He too would not want to forfeit this relationship. This love, I've seen it before in those movies that humans watch. It's hard to explain, it's forgiving, it's understanding. It's unconditional. And it wasn't one sided._


	13. Getting The Truth Out

Normandy SR2

Tali returned to her room after a very emotional talk with Shepard. Shepard said that he wanted to 'check' on Zaeed. To put it honestly, she was afraid what Shepard would do. She knew he went to great lengths to protect her, and despite saying that he won't do anything _too _bad, she was still worried. It was an accident afterall, no matter how fatal it could have been.

Her comm. device beeped. Her aunt was trying to contact her. She fed it through her omnitool and a tiny, holographic version of her aunt popped up.

"Tali, nice to meet you again. I just received the mail that Professor Mordin Solus sent me. Quite intriguing I must say."

_What if she finds out? She'll definitely kill Shepard for 'taking advantage' of me. But there's no point in lying. Mordin already told her._

"What is it about aunty?" she nervously replied.

"It's about a certain new crew member the Normandy will have in a few months time" her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Unlike humans, Quarians only take 4-6 months to be born.

"I'm not so much upset about it. I'm just upset why you didn't tell me the last time we met. Why? Tali, why did you hide this from me?"

Tali wanted to just close the channel and cry, but she knew she had to face up to it. It was the truth, you can't deny the truth.

"I'm sorry. I just thought that you might get angry and exile me and ban Shepard from the Migrant Fleet. I was afraid that you would stop trusting me, stop trusting Shepard, stop trusting-" she cut herself off on purpose. _Get a hold of yourself, don't blab too much. It's a defense mechanism but try to get a hold of it._

She calmed herself down before she continued. "I was afraid that because of this, the Quarians might cut all ties with humans and not help fight the reapers. I was just too afraid to tell." She started to cry.

"Oh don't cry Tali. We're all happy for you. Even Koris asked me to send his regards. Remember this, no matter what happens, we'll always trust you. Anyway, I have some very good news. I'll tell you first so you don't have to wait for Mordin to look through his mail."

She couldn't help but chuckle at that thought. "We have already come up with schematics for a super weapon that can take out a Reaper's kinetic barriers in one shot. This will leave it vulnerable to the Reaper-Busters."

Tali thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out how they can come up with such a thing. _Well, we did create the geth, the largest synthetic race in the galaxy. I don't see how we aren't able to come up with this weapon._ But she had other thoughts on her mind. _I wonder what Mordin said to her._

"What did Mordin say in the mail he sent?" she asked the floating holographic figure.

"What he said was very good news. He said that your child is doing very well. He also mentioned that although the child is a quarian, it has the immune system of a human, making is undeniably resilient. Do you know what this means?"

She processed what her aunt had said and shook her head.

"That means that by mixing DNA, the quarians could have stronger immune systems. After generations maybe, our race may not even need to wear these suits anymore."

Tali nearly jumped at that thought. _Imagine, my race could be free from these blasted suits. We could be like everyone else! We can colonize other planets and not worry about whether it has bacteria. We can go into battle without worry of infections._

But realization struck her.

"But, that would mean we need to alter every quarian. And it would include experimentation, that'll be wrong." Tali voiced her opinion.

"Then we could do it the natural way. We could get every quarian to marry a human."

Tali almost laughed out loud. It was hard to imagine going aboard the Migrant Fleet and seeing a quarian to human ration of 1:1. Of course, she was kidding, hopefully.

"But I think I may have discovered a better way for all existing quarians to do that." She walked towards the elevator. "After a series of checkups, Mordin mentioned that my immune system has grown in strength."

"And how exactly is this possible?" Shala'Raan crossed her arms. Tali got into the elevator and hit the button for Shepard's cabin.

"With controlled exposure using anti-biotics and herbal supplements, I could 'train' my immune system. The first obvious increase was from before entering the Omega 4 relay and after." She had reached Shepard's cabin.

"Something tells me you're spending a lot of time with him."

"Aunty!" Tali reeled back in shock "Back to the matter, I've actually adapted to the Normandy's interior." Tali walked into Shepard's cabin and shut the door.

"They why are you still wearing that suit?" Shala'Raan retorted.

"Because, the rest of the Normandy is 'contaminated' with external bacteria and viruses. The only safe place where I can take off my helmet," she disengaged the lock on her visor and took it off, gaining a loud gasp from her aunt, "is here, in Shepard's cabin."

"Hmmm, very interesting. I'll see what the Admiralty board thinks of this. It may very well save thousands of lives."

"Okay then, see you soon aunty." and she cut the channel.

* * *

Citadel Council Chamber

"Sir, scouting station number 14 just went dark. Communications was cut just after multiple blips entered the system." The overseeing manager had his hands behind his back while talking to the council. He always had the utmost respect for them even if they were wrong.

"Is there any identification on what they may be?" the Turian councilor asked. He was always the first to pose questions. The overseeing manager's job was to keep track of all scouting stations set up by the Council. The reason for these stations was to look out for any reaper attack.

"I'm not so sure sir, but whatever they are, they must be huge. Not to mention that their numbers are large." He tapped at his omnitool. "According to the size of the hostiles, it is far too big to fit any warship, even Krogan warships are smaller."

"Then it is a good thing that Shepard had a fleet of Turian and Krogan vessels stationed around the Citadel." Now it was the Salarian's turn to speak. "I have also heard that the Quarians have developed another kind of super weapon that can take out kinetic barriers easily."

"What do the Quarians want with this war? They may just stab us in the back!" the Turian councilor was a racist himself, putting Quarians at the lowest level of society.

"If they are willing to help with this threat then they must be sincere. I foresee that they are kind people. If they were really as bad as you make them to be, they would have taken their Migrant Fleet and fled the system. You have to understand that in this time of war, there is no room for racism or criticism." He pointed an accusing finger at the Turian.

"Let us not fight amongst ourselves. Send a fleet of alliance vessels to the rendezvous point and send the co-ordinates to Shepard and the Migrant Fleet." The Asari concluded the meeting.

She looked towards the overseeing manager. "You have done well, inform us if there is any more important information. Although we have had issues with them previously, send a report to Cerberus as well."

As they left their posts, the Salarian muttered under his breath, "I hope they have their weapon ready. Or else it will be the end of all sentient life as we know it."

* * *

Cerberus Science and Research facility

Scientist Nelson stood on the holographic projector and waited for it to scan his body structure. Moments later, the figure of the Illusive Man appeared in front of him.

Nelson read off the report. "Sir, it appears that the Council has notified us of a hostile force gathering at the edge of the Galaxy. According to their scans, the hostiles are of considerable size and are large in number. We interpret this as the reapers."

The Illusive Man stood up from his chair, lighting a cigar. He stared out the window at the now dead star. He let himself think deeply on how to handle this situation. The reapers arrived far earlier than he estimated. Drastic measures had to be taken.

"Umm, sir? Can you hear? Is the connection alright?" Nelson turned around to check with the AI.

"There is no problem. I am merely thinking about what we should do." The Illusive Man turned to face him. "We already have a weapon than can rip the reapers apart, but what of their shield? Kinetic barriers? Our weapons will be useless if they cannot penetrate their shields."

"We have traced the Council's report. It seems that they have sent a similar report to the Migrant Fleet. Of course, that definitely is a mistake. What would scavengers and vagrants have anything to do with this war? I'm sure we can get that problem fixed."

"And what if it was really sent to the Migrant Fleet? How can you be so sure that it is an error?" The Illusive Man sat back down into his large, leather chair.

"Their version of the report did mention an electronic super weapon. It is possible that the Quarians have found a way to disable a reaper or something along those lines."

"Good, good. Send Alpha 2 and 3 to the location they gave. Now leave, I need to talk to Shepard." A deceitful smile spread across his face as the hologram dissipated. "I just need one small favour."

* * *

Normandy SR2 Science and Medical research lab

Shepard figured that it'll be better if he let Zaeed suffer a little longer. He learned that trick from Earth. It worked, surprisingly well usually. The whole point of the 'water torture' was to drive the person crazy. It may seem harmless at first, but after a while, you would get a headache. Maybe after a few hours, every drop would seem like a blow to the head. Days of exposure have been known to drive people mad.

He had a few questions for the professor anyways. He seemed to have a growing respect for Shepard, especially after he helped him find his lost student. Now he seemed to talk to Shepard with more respect, which usually meant putting his work on hold while he talked.

"Ah yes, Shepard. What can I do for you?" Mordin was working on how Thane managed to contract the flu virus. Normally drell could only get it through body fluid, and it was a human virus. He brushed the implications aside and looked up the commander.

"Do you have time to talk?" Shepard put his hands behind his back in an attempt to seem at ease.

"Yes. Of course, will always have time to talk to you." Shepard took a few steps towards Mordin, in hopes that other crew members might not hear.

"I always wanted to ask. Erm, how should I put it?" he nervously scratched his chin, wondering how he should phrase his question. "How can Tali even be pregnant?"

"Ah, yes. Excellent question. I'm sure you know that I have been doing some research in that field."

"But your research isn't done, but she's already pregnant? I thought she'll die if something like that happens."

"That's what you thought Shepard. Already finished testing. Final test was two days ago. You and Tali WERE the final test." Shepard gave him a confused face "Test was slightly risky but proved my product works. I spiked both of your foods. One was enough, but spiked two just to be sure."

"And how do you know that it worked? What does it do anyway?" Shepard started to grow more and more suspicious, with more questions popping up every time one answered.

"It is obvious that it worked because Tali is alive now. Normally without my product," he pointed to himself in a failed attempt of pride "she would have died from anaphylactic shock when you and her, erm did that, you know what I mean."

Shepard blushed a bright red before returning to his normal composure, still a bit embarrassed that the events of that night were brought up.

"The 'cure' I have developed actually just makes one's body more acceptable to the genetic makeup of the other. The effects are quite permanent, so you can be a bit more, intimate, towards her."

"Mordin! Please, not so loud!" Shepard almost yelled, putting out a hand to cover the professor's all-so-wide grin. Jacob came bursting through the door, apparently after hearing the yelling. He had his pistol leveled and at ready as he walked in.

"Hey! What's going on?"

"Err, umm, nothing. The professor and I were just talking." Shepard tried to fake a smile.

"Right…" he clipped his pistol back to his belt and walked back to the armory.

"I have to go now. Have something that needs clearing on crew deck." Shepard gave Mordin his thanks and walked out. Just as he was about to leave, Mordin made one last comment, "Crew deck? I thought engineering would be more likely."

Shepard only gave him a glare before stepping into the descending box.

* * *

Normandy SR2, Crew Deck

He exited the elevator to see Miranda standing over Zaeed, unconscious and slumped over a chair.

"Hey! What happened?"

"Apparently the tough guy didn't have much of a mental strength, or a psychological one either." Miranda chuckled "He put up quitea a fight I must say. Had to knock him out by using biotics to mess with his mind."

"Whoah, you can do that? I thought that's the kind of thing only powerful Asari like Samara can do."

"Hah, there's a lot of thing I can do you don't know aabout. Besides, I didn't control him, just knock him out, almost anyone can do that." Miranda lifted Zaeed off the chair with one hand of blue biotic energy. "I'm not done yet. I'll see you later." _This may be the start of a very good friendship._ Miranda smiled and let out a second laugh.


	14. Reconciliation

Normandy SR2

"Shepard, I see you don't really check your messages. The council sent you two and Cerberus sent you three, all regarding the same subject."

"What may that be? More political bullshit?" Shepard replied angrily.

"In case you didn't know, my fleet is being decimated by a whole squad of reapers. You already have the location in the message I sent you. I expect you to go there immediately."

"Anyone else besides Cerberus there?"

The Illusive Man puffed out a cloud of smoke before replying "Ashley Williams is leading a group of Alliance vessels. They haven't arrived but will be there shortly. It seems part of the Migrant Fleet is there too."

"Alright, I get the idea already. This isn't a Cerberus planned joke." He turned around and got Joker to plot a course to the coordinates given.

"Aye aye commander. We are half an hour from the mass relay."

"Remember Shepard, scan every possible piece of reaper technology. We will never know when they will come in useful."

"Alright mom," Shepard angrily crossed his arms at the Illusive Man's constant nagging about 'saving technology' and 'it could be useful to us'.

"Speaking of which, someone would like to meet you. Patching through this channel now." He tapped a few controls and he disappeared. Moments later a hologram of a woman appeared on screen.

"Mother?" Shepard was surprised she managed to contact him. But via Cerberus? Cerberus? "How'd you contact me here?"

"Alex I haven't seen you for so long! Ever since Ashley told me about you joining Cerberus that's where I get all my information. The Cerberus representative is quite nice I must say." All Shepard could do was to use his palm and smack his face oh so comically.

"I don't mean the Illusive Man of course! I'm referring to Ms Lawson. Hmm, what's her name… ah yes, Miranda." Shepard finally dragged his hand away from his face and looked at his mother. She had changed over the years. Still the same person who was concerned for her son but she definitely looked older than when he first joined the Alliance.

"So you have been obtaining information from Miranda?"

"Not only her. She also allowed me to get info from your ship's AI. I love the look of the new Normandy. It's interior is quite amazing I must say." She smiled widely and hugged his hologram. Of course her arms just went through.

"It's just that I haven't seen you for so long. So many things have changed. Ever since you died in the first Normandy, everything just went down. People went their own ways, although most of them cried buckets full before moving on." She used the back of her hand to wipe away the tears that were gathering.

"But then I heard that Cerberus brought you back. They're a terrorist group but they brought you back. You don't know how much that means to me. And here I am now talking to you."

Shepard didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He may have wanted to do both, but that would be weird.

"Anyway, I heard you have reapers to fight. You think we could meet up after that? I always wanted to see your new girlfriend."

"New girlfriend?" A puzzled look appeared on Shepard's face.

"Oh don't try and act dumb! Ashley was ranting about it all day. I'm still with the Alliance remember."

"OH! Oh, alright I get it. Either way, how much of the security footage did you see. All the arguments between the crew?"

"Not much. Just a few pictures of the exterior and the interior of the Normandy. And also a few security footages of the captain's cabin that Joker insisted that I see."

"Oh fuck that can't be good!"

"Alex! Watch your language!" _yup, one part still doesn't change_ "And it is quite, 'interesting'."

"Oh come on mother, don't embarrass me!" Shepard could feel his face turn a bright right.

"I think I may have forgotten to mention that Joker is monitoring this conversation."

"Stop toying with me! Ahh!"

"I'm just kidding! But I wasn't kidding about watching the security footages of the Captain's Cabin."

"Ugh, I'll see you next time. I think entering the mass relay will cut the transmission anyway."

"Goodbye, and make sure you don't get into anymore trouble. And take care of Tali as well" were her last words before she cut the transmission.

_I'll definitely take care of her. I'll protect her with my life._

Unmapped sector at the edge of Galaxy

"This is commander Karla, captain of Cerberus vessel T-12. State your business here!" Karla Henderson was a very prominent commander in the Cerberus military. She was one of the very few females who made it to high ranks.

"This is Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema. We have been told by the council to report here, supposed to help defend against the reapers and to test our new super weapon."

Karla picked up a datapad. "It seems that you WERE asked to come here. We've already marked your ships and friendly. But any act of aggression towards us and it goes to hostile. Got that?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"You sure about this? Siding with quarians just like that?" Lieutenant Patrick came up from behind.

Karla turned around to face him "They had what it takes to build an entire synthetic race. I don't see why they can't build an anti-reaper super weapon."

"I wasn't questioning their ability to do so. I mean, they're a bunch of vagrants who may just stab us in the back!"

"Ugh, that's the downside of joining Cerberus I suppose. Damn racists." She rubbed her temples as she walked back to her quarters. "Notify me if anything else pops up on radar."

Aboard the Neema

Admiral Han'Gerrel was having a hard time trying to explain what the ships had to do to make their super weapon work.

"It's like this. When I give the order, ships A,B,C and D will take their places around the reaper. And when I give the second order, all of the ships will activate their transmission dishes that were specially installed into the side of the ship. Is that clear?"

The room erupted into a series of 'yes sir' and 'affirmative'.

"At least this was easier than the last time."

"Admiral! We're picking up multiple hostiles coming in fast."

"Alright, everyone get to your stations. Get the four projector ships ready." Han'Gerrel shouted as people scrambled to man their positions. The assault ships that the Quarians had weren't equipped with the newly developed reaper-busters. Their only job was to take out their barriers.

Suddenly, five massive reapers emerged from their short slip-space jump. They quickly shifting to their usual offensive pattern, spreading its tentacles out, firing red laser beams from the tips.

Commander Karla was shaken from her seat in her quarters, making her run to the bridge. "Status report, now!"

"Ma'am, we just got hit by one of those big red lasers. Kinetic barriers holding at 80% and climbing."

"Evasive maneuvers!" she shouted into the com link that fed her orders to all of Alpha 2 and 3. After which she opened a channel to the Neema.

"Admiral! You have to get your ships into position fast! We're getting toasted out here."

"We are in position. My ships are already charging up the singularity. Try and draw the fire off them." The Admiral nearly fell from his seat after a violent explosion.

"All ships, try and take the fire off those four ships over there," she instructed while marking them on radar "If they don't survive we don't survive!"

She was responded by the change in formation, the T-class ships moving in to literally shield the four singularity generating ships from oncoming fire.

After a minute that seemed like an eternity to them, Karla saw the reaper's barriers flicker and die.

"We have an open target. I repeat, we have an open target. A-2, A-3 fire at will!" Almost instantly she could see two slow missiles being launched. This gave the four Quarian ships time to escape. The missiles were also designed to track massive energy signatures, meaning they would follow a reaper if it moved. Of course, reapers move too slowly to out run them.

They all watched in suspense as the reaper was torn apart with the two missiles. Each missile was nothing more than an armour piercing round, using obsidian, the only material known to cut reaper hide, to make an entrance for the explosive to move inside the reaper and detonate. Despite the thick armour on the outside, the reapers were defenseless on the inside.

"Everyone double time! We need to take out the other four of them."

"Admiral, you think those ships need long to recharge?"

"Not at all, they are back to full capacity. Sending them to target number five."

"Ma'am, we just lost T-2 and T-6. T-3, 7, 11 and 9 are heavily damaged." One of the crew members drew her attention to the rising number of casualties. "On the bright side, the charge is at 80%"

As the order was given, the 6 attack ships had their weapons at ready. Once the reaper's shields flickered out, there was no hesitation as four missiles were fired. The previous reaper still had bits and pieces left and they weren't taking any chances.

"We just lost A-5 and 6! The reapers are now targeting the assault ships. They're doing their best to stay out of the firefight now." Karla began to grow worried at the increasingly high number of friendly ships being blown out of space.

"Commander," an image of Han'Gerrel flickered onto her omnitool "We just lost three of our assault carriers and one of our charger ships. With just three we can still charge a singularity but it will take longer. We can't go on like this."

"Try to hold on, I'm sure we'll find a way." Just as if her prayers were answered a very loud voice came over the communications.

"Fellow countrymen, lend me your ears. This is Joker Jeff Moreau proud driver of the Normandy. I have a big fucking EMP in the back of this ship. Where do you want it." There was a bit of static before a more serious voice filled the com channel.

"This is commander Shepard, captain of the Normandy SR2, how may we be of assistance Commander Karla?"

"How did you know my name? The Illusive man sent you the dossier didn't he?"

"You bet he did. Anyway, as my over-enthusiastic pilot mentioned," Shepard glared intently at Joker "we rigged some parts to form an EMP bomb. It's capable of just knocking out engines and kinetic barriers."

"Oh thank god we have something else that's anti-kinetic barriers. I can't describe how helpful your Quarian buddies are. They took out the barriers of two reapers already."

"I see Cerberus got over the whole xenophobic thing. You think we could drop our bomb over the reaper that doesn't have tiny ships circling it? What are the tiny ships doing anyway?"

Almost instantly the face of Han'Gerrel appeared in front of him "They are creating a massive singularity capable to taking out the reaper's kinetic barriers. It's something like using biotics to create a singularity to destroy a barrier, just on a larger scale and artificially done."

"Alright, sit tight people, this is gonna be close!" the Normandy weaved in and out of reaper tentacles before dropping the payload. "It's shields are down already! You gonna sit there and piss in your pants or are you going to attack?"

Karla grunted at the direct insult by Joker "We heard you the first time dickhead! My ships are already opening fire." With that the four remaining assault ships made short work of it

Back on the Normandy, Shepard was getting worried. Their kinetic barriers had already dropped to 20%. Another well placed hit by the giant red laser would put this Normandy in the same fate as the first.

_Dammit! When they say be careful what you wish for I think they're right._ Shepard held tightly to the side of Joker's seat as they saw a giant flash of red in front of them. After a few brief flickers it started to pulse a deathly red, about to unleash hell on them.

When it was about to fire, something big appeared in front of them, something REALLY big.

"Long time no see skipper. How'd you like the Alliance's new ship?" _Why do I have the feeling that back up only arrives just in time to save your ass? This is happening waaay too much._ "I see you've quite forgiven me, seeing that you just saved my ass."

"We can talk about that later. But I'm fine with you, until you make another mistake that is."

Shepard watched in shock as the SSV Turtleback just shrugged off the laser blast. Upon checking database, he found out that it was designed to be a tanker, with very little armament, but with armour as thick as a reaper's. The main offensive of the new design was something even Joker was surprised of.

With just two reapers left and the shields of one of them disappearing, the huge vessel did something which most ships only considered a last resort. It rammed headfirst into the reaper which had its shields at full. After watching the kinetic barrier flicker and die, almost everyone was shocked that it had received no visible damage.

"Oh man I want to drive one of those!" Joker raised up his hands in utter amazement. "But the Normandy is still my baby."

After the destruction of the fourth reaper, the last one did something quite unexpected. In a burst of red pulsating energy, it destroyed all ships that were close to it, including the three quarian vessels. Those outside the blast area were hit by a devastating EMP.

Convinced that all hostiles were neutralized, it began to talk through the communication channels of all ships.

"_I bring a message from Harbinger" _Han'Gerrel gasped audibly as he never knew a reaper could talk or communicate. _"The destruction of Sovereign means nothing"_ Even Ashley felt afraid. _"Your actions mean nothing human. Harbinger will come. You will all be afraid"_ were its last words before disappearing in another flash of red light.

"I… I think he was referring to you Shepard" the once brave Commander Karla stammered at her sentence.

"I don't know what it meant. But whatever it is, I'm sure with the galaxy under one force, we still have a fighting chance. We will have a fighting chance."


	15. PTM

Normandy SR2, Approaching Citadel for repairs

"There is no way I'm going to meet your mother! It'll be so embarrassing!"

"Oh come on Tali, it'll be fun. Besides, you've never met my mother but I've met your aunt" Shepard took a step closer, sliding his hand around her waist.

"No! What if she finds out about what happened and… disapproves?" She knocked his arm away from her, backing up until she hit the wall.

"Don't worry about that. Just talk to her and be normal. Okay? Besides, she already saw the security footage that Joker 'recommended'." _Alright, bad move, she didn't need to know that._

"Yeah I suppose," Tali paused before registering his last sentence "WHAT?"

Citadel, Random restaurant that has food

Shepard led Tali into the restaurant. He noticed a woman wave in the distance and dragged Tali towards her. To be honest, Tali wasn't too excited about this. She was afraid she would say something wrong, mess up and embarrass Shepard in public. But she was here, nothing she could do about it anyway.

Shepard motioned for Tali to take a seat before seating himself next to her. "Good afternoon Mrs Shepard" Tali said while nervously wringing her hands under the table, out of sight.

"Good afternoon Mrs Shepard" came the reply. Tali cocked her head to the side, indicating that she felt something amiss.

"Are you copying what I'm saying? I said good afternoon Mrs Shepard" she tried one more time.

"No I am not, I merely said good afternoon Mrs Shepard"

Tali wrapped her hands tightly around _Alex _Shepard's arm "Shepard, this is creepy" Instantly, both _Alex_ Shepard and _Hannah _Shepard replied

"Which Shepard?" Tali put her head in her hands and rested it on the table. _I think I'm going to faint_

"Don't worry dear, I know what you mean." Hannah Shepard lifted Tali's head up to face her "You can call me Hannah. My son's first name is" Tali finished off her sentence "Alex…"

"Remember, It's just Alex. Not Alexander" Hannah Shepard lifted her hand to call for the waiter.

"But that still doesn't explain why you said 'good afternoon Mrs Shepard'. It doesn't make sense. I thought **you** were Mrs Shepard"

"Since you're married to him that makes you Mrs Shepard doesn't it?" She couldn't help but notice the ring that Tali was wearing.

"I suppose you are right." Thankfully, the waiter came to take their order and to end the awkward conversation over family names.

"You aren't going to ask questions like, 'They aren't all vagrants?' or 'What are they like under the mask'?" Alex tried to break the silence.

"Nonsense! Quarians are nice people. It's just that most of us don't really respect them, which is quite sad. I have seen her without the mask you know."

"How? This is the first time I've met you. My mask is tinted purple, it's not like you could just see through or something like that."

"Who said I had to see you without your mask in person?"

Shepard, I mean _Alex_ Shepard leaned over and whispered into Tali's ear "She's been looking at security footage that Joker 'recommended'. That's my mom for you."

"Oh keelah…" Tali closed her eyes and put her head under the table, not wanting anyone to see that she was blushing.

"Alright, enough embarrassing questions. How's your life aboard the Normandy? From what I heard it's bigger than the original one."

"It's definitely bigger, and I have a whole deck to myself now. Was quite surprised at first, didn't know Cerberus would put so much into this."

"Why would they do that? I'm sure they quite expected you to turn your back on them. Didn't think that Cerberus would spend 4 Billion to bring you back."

"I honestly don't know. But I'm pretty sure TIM wants something out of me sooner or later. Right now all he does is sit there in his leather chair, smoke and stare out at a star, hoping he doesn't get cancer."

"Tim? I've never heard of him" Hannah Shepard asked just as a waiter brought two steaks and dextro-amino milkshake.

"The. Illusive. Man. It's something me and Joker came up with." He turned towards Tali who still had her head under the table. "Get up, your food is getting cold, or warm, whatever."

"We aren't talking about anything embarrassing anymore are we?" Tali poked her head up from under the table. Shepard put his fork down and stroked the back of her helmet. "No we're not. We were just discussing some stuff about Cerberus and TIM."

A certain beeping sound caught Shepard's attention. He turned on his omnitool to see Miranda pop up.

"Commander, Zaeed's awake. Figured I should notify you in case you want to _talk to him_."

"I'll be there shortly." And he closed the communications channel.

"What was that about? Who's Zaeed?"

Shepard proceeded to get out of his seat. "Some elite veteran merc that Cerberus hired. I have to go handle his _recent moral misdeed_ now. I won't be too long. Tali, fill in the details." Tali felt her heart sink. The last thing she wanted to remember was the night at the bar.

Shepard took his leave and jogged back to the docking bay. "So Tali, what happened?"

"Most of it is a bit fuzzy, but I have to say that I didn't do anything wrong."

"Sure go ahead" Hannah had a bad feeling about this. Things just seemed to go wrong around her son. Really wrong.

Normandy SR2

"Hey! Hey! Let go of me!" Miranda's hands were covered in a blue glow. It was a desperate attempt to keep Zaeed in before Shepard came and settled things.

"Fine," Miranda let her biotics slip as she dropped Zaeed back onto the bed. "I wonder why doc didn't strap you down." Miranda did have _interesting_ ways to handle people. One whole day of water dripping on your head non-stop? It was torture. Eventually the rhythemic dripping would get to your head and you would beg people to stop it. Just then, Shepard came through the door to the med bay. "How's our little friend been doing?"

"Screw you Shepard, I was an accident." Zaeed snarled as he spat at his feet.

"You're going to have to clean that up."

"What am I supposed to do? Time travel?"

"My first idea was to teach you a lesson. But I think I have a better idea. I want you to apologize to Tali, in public."

"No way in hell I'm going to do that shit!" He lunged at Shepard but was held back by Miranda's biotics.

"I meant just the crew."

Zaeed let out a loud growl. Seeing that this was going nowhere, he just complied.

Citadel, same random restaurant

"Poor girl, I can't believe such a thing happened becasue of him, although it was partially a mistake. Pesonally I'm quite surprised you're alive and well." Hannah Shepard carefully listened to Tali's account

"Mrs. Shepard! Over here!" Both Tali and Hannah turned their heads to look at who was calling them and sighed as they realized it was Khalisah Al-Jilani, the same reporter that harassed Alex Shepard two years ago and once again just a few days before going through the Omega 4 relay.

Hannah Shepard leaned over to whisper something into Tali's ear. The thought of such a plan made her giggle a little, but they were settled on it.

Khalisah walked over to their table with her recorder droid. "I'm Khalisah Al-Jilani, good to meet you Mrs Shepard."

Instantly, both of them replied, "Good to meet you."

The reporter scratched her head and said "I believe I was talking to Mrs Shepard"

Again, both of them replied "Yes, I am Mrs Shepard."

The plan seemed to work as the annoyance seemed to get to the reporter's head "How exactly am I supposed to believe that an insignificant Quarian is part of Shepard's family?"

This time Hannah Shepard took on a more serious tone "People all around the galaxy are watching you. You better think about what you say before you go ahead and insult Shepard's wife again." She crossed her hands angrily. Of course, this was all part of the plan.

"I'm so sorry. I thought she was just a regular quarian." Khalisah took a step back in apology.

"Regular quarian? So if she was 'just a quarian' then you would have the right to insult her? Is it not because race you think she is unfit to even talk to you?" This time, Hannah Shepard was really angry. She was another person who couldn't stand racism, exactly where Shepard got his genes from.

"No! No, of course not. I just meant that-"

She was cut off by Hannah Shepard standing up, saying loudly "I've had enough of your disingenuous assertions", punching her hard in the face. "Come on Tali, lets meet Alex on the Normandy."

Tali stood up, taking Hannah's hand and walking out of the restaurant, leaving the reporter on the floor. _That seemed awfully familiar. A bit too familiar. _She could only giggle to herself as she led Hannah to where the Normandy was docked.

Normandy SR2

"Mr Moreau. I've heard so much about you." Joker spun his chair around lazily, replying "Since when do you call me that?"

After a brief moment of realization that it wasn't Commander Shepard but his mother, he immediately stumbled over, getting out of his chair. He gave a salute with his right hand and gripped the railing with his other. "Good afternoon Captain"

"At ease. Please, call me Hannah, I don't want any more confusion over the the name 'Shepard'."

"Commander Shepard is in the briefing room. Said something about public apology."

Tali's omnitool beeped. "Sorry…" she whispered before she checked the message "Shepard said he wants us to go back to the Normandy. Said that Zaeed wanted to apologize for something."

"Zaeed, apologizing? Wouldn't miss it for the world." And he slowly limped over to the briefing room.

Once they entered the briefing room, Engineer Gabriella gave a salute followed by "Captain on Deck!" Almost instantly, everyone spun around and put their right hands to the side of their heads.

Alex Shepard turned away from Zaeed to look at what the commotion was all about. He pushed through a few crew members before recognizing his mother. "Mother! Why are you here?"

"You wouldn't leave me alone right? I always wanted to see this ship first hand anyway."

"HEY! Nobody said anything about extra bitches sitting in for this!"

Shepard was about to go over and whack his head but his mother had already took a step towards Zaeed, palm stuck out at her son as if saying 'let me handle this'. She took two more steps towards him, planting her face to face with the veteran mercenary.

"Zaeed Massani? I'm Hannah Shepard." She gave him a hard slap across the face "And I'm no bitch." She brought that same hand down on his other cheek, making a loud sound as it contacted the flesh.

Zaeed brought a hand up to his cheek, rubbing the five-fingered imprint. "Didn't know girls in the military even had the strength in them. I thought all of you were either secretaries or something like that."

Now Engineer Gabriella took a step forward punched him in the face, making his nose crack from the impact. Both Hannah and Alex Shepard turned towards her and raised an eyebrow.

"He insulted me!" She raised her hands in defeat and walked off. Zaeed spat a little blood from his mouth and uttered "Damn all those Cerberus bitches are nasty."

"Heard that." Miranda let her hands pulse a familiar blue glow before turning towards Hannah.

"Ah, you must be Alex Shepard's mother. Nice to meet you."

"Zaeed sure has a way with words." She commented, watching demand that he be let down instantly.

"Yea, he's good at insulting people. Better than most."

"Dammit let me down!" Zaeed nearly screamed "I swear all of you biotics have it out of control!" He felt himself being smashed into the ceiling before dropping down onto the ground, hard. Too hard.

Miranda lifted her hands, the glow now gone. "Didn't do it!"

Hannah Shepard turned her head to look at a half naked woman covered head to toe in tattoos. He entire body was glowing a dark blue, biotic energy radiating off her. "And you are?"

"I'm Jack" She let Zaeed go but still kept him within her field "You're the commander's mom I guess."

"Yes." She watched in shock as she effortlessly threw him against the door, making him land at the foot of it. "Free now? Or maybe later."

Waiting for the biotic energy to cool down Jack replied "I was done with that bastard already. You're son's a good guy."

"In what way?"

"Heh, what can I say? Actually convinced me to work with that Cerberus cheerleeder." Hannah couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "Next thing I knew, that quarian chick's preggo with his child." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Tali.

_That reminds me. I need to ask Tali a few questions regarding that matter. If she doesn't mind of course._ "It's been nice talking to you, but I better get going."

"Yeah, whatever" and Jack left the room. Hannah Shepard caught sight of her son trying to find out why Engineer Gabriella did what she did. She found Tali next to him and promptly pulled her away.

She pointed a finger towards the sky and indicated that they talk privately. After taking another elevator ride, they were seated in the quarters of the commander's cabin.

"I heard from your teammate Jack that I'm going to have grandchildren. Care to explain?"

Tali gulped hard. Here goes "Well, the professor on board the Normandy came up with something that lets these things work. The child isn't exactly a half human half quarian hybrid, but rather a quarian with a human strength immune system."

"I've already heard from Mordin about how this works. I just want to ask you. Are you sure about this? Having kids in the middle of a war ain't the easiest thing to do you know."

"I haven't really thought about it that way. But after all this is over I want to start a new life with Shepard, sorry I didn't mean you."

"No offence taken. Please, continue"

"As I was saying, I want to start a new life with him. Now that you mentioned it I will have to be strong in the next few months or maybe years. But I will do it. I will do it for the hope of having a better life."

"Good, that's the spirit. I liked that. I'm glad you have such determination Tali. Very few people have this."

"I too am very glad for you Tali. I see you got over this block of telling your feelings to others." Kasumi slipped over and put a hand on Tali's shoulder before uncloaking.

She turned to the now shocked Hannah Shepard and bowed, as all Japanese did traditionally. "Kasumi Goto, master thief. Nice to meet you."

"My son recruits the most unique people." Was all she could muster in reply.


	16. Breakaway

**I know it's incredibly short but this is more of a prologue to the next chapter**

**I'm back in the writing business now that I cleared my work and have much more free time**

Approximately 10 days later

"We've been doing nothing but flying around killing reapers. Is there anything else we can do?" Grunt was itching to get his hands dirty again.

Most of the team members were huddled around the meeting table, discussing their course of action.

"I propose we just wait. I think the reapers that we've been fighting were only the scouting parties. The Migrant Fleet has already perfected their technology and we've already tested our latest super weapons. There is nothing more we can do than to wait for Harbinger to show."

"I suppose that's quite reasonable. We're docked at the Citadel." This time he spoke into the Normandy's intercom system "Whoever wants some leave can just take it. But be back here when I call for a regroup." Almost instantly many crew members were swarming the doors.

After a while, only a couple of crew members remained. Doctor Chakwas decided that she should remain in case anything happened. Legion only refused commented that 'organics are interesting creatures'. Jacob said there was work to be done and Samara needed time to meditate aboard the ship.

Kasumi had already gone with Tali into the depths of the Citadel, hoping to get away from the noise and commotion.

Citadel, Tali's POV

"Sooo… you've been walking around from two hours and you still don't know what to get for Shepard."

"Our commander or his mother." They walked into yet another stall.

"You know who I'm referring to. Have you really not thought about what to get him?"

"I wanted to buy him something that isn't flashy or expensive yet meaningful." She looked over the shop's inventory "But I haven't found anything that fits that criterion."

"Why don't you get him a flower? It's the most meaningful thing you could give him." They were leaving the shop when a gruff voice sounded behind them.

"HEY! You two! You quarian and that funny human with the hood! Return what you stole. NOW!"

"We didn't steal anything!" Tali protested as the human came out from behind the counter and grabbed her by the arm. "Hey! Let go I didn't steal anything."

Kasumi pulled a knife from her belt placed it dangerously close to the man's throat. "She said she didn't steal anything." She watched the man sweat nervously. "So let go."

"Fine! But I'm calling C-Sec!" He let go of Tali and typed into his omnitool.

"I had this _quarian_ and human coming over and stole some stuff from my store. Yes they refused to return the goods, even threatened me with a knife."

Kasumi jammed the blade hard into his throat, making him gasp loudly. His eyes bulged in surprise and pain before he crumpled to the floor. Not a moment too soon, four C-Sec officers arrived at the scene, drawing their gun and pointing them at Kasumi.

"Put the knife down lady. Don't want any more trouble." He tried to sound as composed as possible, but truly, he was scared.

Kasumi was about to unclasp the blade when she heard shots ring out. Everything was a blur as the four officers in front of them crumpled to the floor. A whole squad of blue suns mercs came into the open and grabbed her and Tali.

Tali felt two strong arms clamp down on her shoulders, forcing her towards a wall.

"Who are you?" Tali managed to stutter. "What do you want with me?"

"We'll tell you later." Those unfeeling eyes looked back at her. She saw Kasumi being pushed into a car and she had the feeling that was where she was going too. She quickly reached down and pulled her knife out.

But before she could even hit him with it, he had already grabbed her wrist, flicking the knife out of her hand and pressing a knee against her stomach. She let out a loud gasp before she was thrown into the same car that Kasumi was in, her head hitting the side. Before long, she had already passed out.

Warehouse 274, Citadel

Tali woke up on a hard piece of cement. She rolled over only to be met with a hard floor. She immediately regained her senses. She saw Kasumi lying on a similar block of cement. She was stripped of all her weapons and so was Kasumi. They had confiscated her omnitool as well.

Tali took a good look around the room. The room was bare except for the two 'beds', a clock and a table with two chairs. There was only one door and it was made of metal using a physical lock. On the table was a tray of food with a note. It read:

_Tali,_

_You will pay for what you did to Fist and his men. You and your filthy little friend will pay. Enjoy your last meal._

_Antonio_

Whoever Antonio was, it was her target now. She scanned over the food, there were two potatoes and a small piece of meat. All human food. _Luckily I have my own._ She reached for a tube of nutrient paste on her belt only to find that it wasn't there. They had taken it away together with her knife and pistol.

She slowly woke Kasumi up, "Kasumi, do you know where we are?"

Kasumi woke up rubbing her head. She patted her body trying to find out which weapons/lockpick that they didn't take from her. She blushed slightly after finding out that they had taken _everything_ from her.

"Why did you blush? Are you alright?"

"They took the knife that was strapped to the inside of my pants. So they must have uh, you know what I mean."

"There is some food on the table. Antonio said it was our last meal. I think he's trying to starve us to death. They took my three tubes of nutrient paste as well."

"I'm sure Shepard will realize that we're missing sooner or later."

"I err, told him that I wanted to have some alone time. I said that I may even rent an apartment with you for one day."

"Well, you got the alone time you wanted."

Normandy SR2, two days later

"Hey, have you seen Tali?" Shepard was standing behind Joker. They were on leave until further notice so majority of the crew had apartments rented.

"So, finally noticed that she wasn't in your bed when you woke up?"

"Joker…"

"Aww come on! We're on leave. Be a bit informal. Anyways, I thought she said she wanted some alone time."

"I suppose. Just a bit worried that's all."

"Scans indicate that Tali and Kasumi are still on the Citadel." EDI's blue hologram popped up.

"Thanks EDI"

Warehouse 274, Citadel

Tali was already suffering from hunger pains and so was Kasumi. The food that they gave was either rotten or raw so they chucked it into the small garbage bin that they found.

Sometime during the evening, two guards came in. "I'm just borrowing your pretty friend here." One of them pointed at Kasumi as they dragged her to her feet.

"What are you going to do with her!"

"Don't worry you'll get your share of it."

She watched in horror as Kasumi was pulled outside. Tali knew she would fight back but she was tired, hungry and weak. She watched in horror as one of the guards removed a baton from his belt as he walked out.

"NO! No you are not going to do that to my friend!" But it was too late. The door was already locked. Through the ventilation shaft that was connected to the corridor, she could hear Kasumi gasp in pain. She tried her best to fight back the tears but she knew she couldn't. She couldn't stand this being done, not to a friend.

After having their 'fun' they forced Kasumi back in. She had her bruises all over and was wiping blood off her arm as she slumped to her knees and collapsed.

Normandy SR2

"Shepard, I need your help. Despite our past disagreements we need to work together."

"Alright, alright what do you need." The hologram of Shepard crossed his arms at the Illusive Man.

"Cerberus itself has traitors. They have broken away from the main faction and occupied a space station in the Omega system. I need you to hunt them down. They have stolen a valuable piece of data from us. I need you to help me retrieve it."

"Remind me again. I am helping you why?"

"Because," He took a leisurely puff of smoke "we brought you back from the dead. We are sending ships to help in the anti-reaper effort. We have helped to steer you in the right direction. I am not ordering you to do it but the least you could do in return is do me a favour."

"Alright. But only because you brought me back." Shepard took a step back, out of the transmission area.

"Joker, set a course for Omega. I need to get some info. EDI, you think you could send a message to Tali? Tell her we'll be back to pick her and Kasumi up in a day or two."


	17. Retrieval

**I havent really put in much stuff in the pre story.  
BTW, some of the parts may have been changed coz I don't really remember the ME1 storyline quite well  
I have seen some concerns about the 'return of fist' Rest assured fist is as dead as can be and this is entirely different.**

**Cyaz**

* * *

Normandy SR2

"EDI get Jack and Grunt up here now."

Moments later the three of them were in the airlock, waiting for the cycle to finish. He met the gazes of a half-crazed biotic woman and a fully crazed pure bred Krogan.

"Alright, I need you to help me infiltrate the rogue Cerberus facility. The people there are part of a Cerberus splinter group so neither us not Cerberus cares what happens to them. I brought you two because TIM wants me to wreak havoc, and you two are simply the best."

There wasn't really much resistance along the pathway but Jack and Grunt really liked overdoing things. Using crates as projectiles, breaking down doors instead of just opening them.

"This must be their central information library. I'm going to take some time to finish the transfer. Meet back here in 10 alright. Move together, keep talking on the comm channel so I know you're there."

Without argument, Jack and Grunt went off happily to break more stuff. Most of the carnage was defenseless stuff, Cerberus operatives armed with nothing more than a pistol, or mechs that were poorly constructed. Grunt was so happy when they finally met a YMIR mech.

"Finally," Grunt punched his hands together "A challenge!" he lunged head first into the mech, powered by pure Krogan adrenaline. He slammed hard into it, making it wobble slightly from the blow to the leg. Jack took advantage of this and let herself be enveloped by blue power, causing the mech to turn over with a hard push.

Following that, Grunt jumped onto the mech, pounding it repeatedly with his fists, causing sparks to fly into the air.

"Shepard here, I'm done. I'll meet you at the power core, few doors down."

"Sure," Jack let the power slip from her "No prob"

Warehouse 274, Citadel

It was the fourth day of their suffering. Tali was already feeling severe stomach cramps and they were getting more and more frequent. They said that they would come for her later. How much later they did not specify.

It seemed that her question was answered as two men burst in from the door. The same two men that had come in for Kasumi just days ago. _Keep yourself together Tali. Don't give them any info. Especially not about Shepard_. Kasumi only looked up at them before going back to sleep, unaware why they even came.

But they didn't even ask any questions. The slightly smaller human just stood by the door while the larger one assaulted her. He first sent his fist flying out, something which Tali could dodge efficiently. But the next move had caught her by surprise. He took a quick step backwards.

He back stepped just as he prepared his next move, a dash forward. Slamming into her, Tali was forced back facing the wall as he pressed down on her. She didn't have her knife this time and her hands were locked by his grasp.

She let out a scream as he lifted one knee and slammed it into her midsection. He pressed his knee in further, causing her to gasp for breath.

"You… you will pay for this… you will pay!"

"Not today I ain't," He drew his knee back and rammed it one more time into her stomach, forcing her to cry out in pain. As he let go of her, she fell down to her knees, clutching her stomach in pain and agony.

As he left, he turned his head only to spit at her and mutter "Pathetic quarian…"

Rogue Cerberus facility

"I'm going to plant this bomb and we are going to get the hell out of here alright?" after two quick nods, he continued "We have ten minutes, ample time." He bent down on one knee and set the timed charge. "Alright, lets move out."

They left the core reactor room, and back down the long hallway that they came from. It would be only about 200 meters to the Normandy. But someone else had other plans. The doors shut both in front and behind followed by a voice on the loud speakers.

"This is Sergeant Cole, welcome to your doom Shepard."

"What the hell do you want?"

"I want you dead despite Cerberus' intentions of using you to help them. I think you caused us too much trouble. You are the very reason we have a very big hold in our pocket now. But now you will pay."

"Wouldn't that just waste your time and money?" he was already hacking the first door. _Success_. As the door opened he was greeting my groups of mechs.

"That's what Cerberus thinks. We're a splinter group. We just want your ass that's all."

From behind cover, Shepard fired his SMG blindly into the horde, shouting as he went along "Wouldn't you go up in flames together with this station?"

"Oh don't tell me you didn't expect me to think of that. I'm on a ship, away from that ticking time bomb."

"This is the Normandy SR2, come in Shepard" this time it was from the radio on his suit.

"Shepard here, we're currently bolted down!" he popped out of cover to head count the enemy. "About six mechs and going down. Anything wrong?"

"We have a ship incoming tagged as Cerberus! Clarify please?"

Popping the head of two mechs, Shepard leaned back into cover, "Sergeant Cole is on that. It's hostile. Open fire! Pick us up later, and please don't take too long! We have 7 minutes tops."

After ripping up the last mech, they all came out of their cover and regrouped at the next door. "Alright, just two more rooms before we get to the docking bay."

The next room posed an even greater threat with two YMIRs and a whole platoon of 12 Loki mechs. Jumping behind whatever cover they could find.

Fueled by pure Krogan blood rage, Grunt jumped up from his cover and lunged straight at the first YMIR, taking out three mechs as he went along. The first collision drained its shields and put Grunt on the high priority list. After a few hard punches, a familiar count down for the YMIR's self destruct could be heard.

"Grunt! Get down!" Grunt jumped back into cover behind Shepard as the explosion consumed another three Loki mechs. "Nice one." Grunt slammed his fists together in excitement.

Normandy SR2

"We're taking heavy fire! Sit tight people this is gonna be a rough ride!" Joker managed the controls as the Normandy detached from the docking bay and brought its weapons online.

"EDI, firing solution?"

"Firing solution acquired Mr Moreau"

"I'm firing the main cannons! Time to give them hell." The Normandy dodged another missile while firing the main cannons. A while blast of energy tore a hole through the rogue Cerberus vessel, bringing it offline.

"Woohoo! Give it another shot" After a brief cool down time, the Normandy spun around for another devastating attack, this one ripping the rogue cruiser in half.

"Normandy to ground team, target neutralized. I repeat, target neutralized, we are safe to dock."

"Mr Moreau, recent scans indicate that Tali'Zorah's vitals have gone critical. It should also be noted that Ms Goto has is also in critical condition."

"Shepard's gonna love this"

Rogue Cerberus space station

"Jack! Take out the last two!"

After another small room with only a handful of mechs, Joker's voice came over the channel, indicating that it is safe to dock.

"Joker we'll be right over. Anything else?"

"You might want to know that Tali and Kasumi just went critical."

"Plan a course for the Citadel, we leave immediately." After a short decontamination cycle, Shepard went straight up to his room.

Normandy SR2

Meeting Thane and Garrus at the airlock, Shepard proceeded to brief them.

"We managed to track their life signs to warehouse 274. I don't know what we're dealing with so I'm bringing my best hand to hand people. Try to keep the casualties to a minimum. If possible, knock them out, don't kill them."

Warehouse 274, Citadel

It had gone on to the fifth day of their imprisonment. Tali couldn't understand why she kept having those stomach cramps. It wasn't as if she had gone without food for a month or something like that.

She felt horrible. It was dark and damp, not to mention that the only source of light other than the sunlight through the cracks was an ever flickering light bulb.

There wasn't any toilet around but at least her suit fixed most of that. She felt the in-between of her pants slowly grow wet. _Ugh, stupid suit must be malfunctioning! Come on you bosh'tet._ Tali typed furiously at her suit's controls. She already felt consciousness slowly slipping away from her.

_Hmm, it says urinary drainage function is working correctly. But there isn't time to worry about things like this._ She slowly felt the darkness consume her.

Barely supporting herself, the collapsed onto her side. That was when the door burst open. From that position, she managed to make out a green figure snapping the neck of the first guard and knocking the other unconscious. A heavily armoured Turian walked towards her and hoisted her onto his shoulder. Everything onwards was a blur.

**Shepard's POV**

"Thane, take those two out when Garrus breaks the door." Shepard watched as Thane slipped away and Garrus take position.

"Garrus, you are good to go in" Shepard held out three fingers, two, one, and finally clenched it into a fist. Running to gain momentum, Garrus charged at the door. He rammed into it shoulder first, door breaking as it should.

Moving out of the guard's arms length, Garrus stepped away as Thane snapped the neck of the first guard and knocked the second one unconscious with a strong right hook.

"Garrus, pick up Tali, I'll get Kasumi. Let's go home." Shepard gingerly walked over to Kasumi who still lay unconscious on her 'bed'. He slowly picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. On the way out, he retrieved the guards' omnitools, Tali's confiscated omnitool and all of Kasumi's knives, neatly arranged on a table just outside their cell.

Noticing the note on the table inside, he turned to Thane. "Thane, any sign of other mercs, their boss, whatever?"

"I'm so sorry, there were only these two guarding. They seem to be receiving orders from someone else."

"There's a note inside saying that Antonio is related to Fist or something like that. He just said that we will pay for killing his friend."

"Not too sure about that. We should hurry to get Kasumi and Tali back to the Normandy."

"Point taken."

Normandy SR2

Shepard watched as Tali and Kasumi were carried into the med bay. _Strange, what's Legion doing here?_ His question was answered when Legion walked out of the med bay.

"Shepard-Commander. It is important that you make a decision now."

"Decision? About what? What decision?" Shepard stared hard at Legion, hoping that it would give him the answer.

"We apologize for not telling you the situation before hand. Due to physical damage to creator-Tali'Zorah, we regret to mention that the child has gone critical and will die. But due to current technology, we can save the child but at the expense of the parent."

Shepard stood dumbfounded. He did not know what to say what to do. Many times he escaped death itself, now it has come back with a vengeance.

"Save Tali…" Shepard turned away from Legion, hoping to find consolation in the wall he was facing.

"Affirmative Shepard-Commander. We also request your permission for two S-20 geth platforms to board the Normandy. Their shuttle has already left the station a few minutes ago."

Shepard turned back to face reality, "Why do you need extra platforms, can't Chakwas carry out the surgery of something."

"The medical doctor does not have the required information nor the experience. Only quarians and geth have this knowledge of their biological structure. This platform is unsuitable for carrying out such a high risk op. It was designed for combat, not medical reasons."

_High risk op. Legion considered this a high risk. The geth considered the life of a quarian a high risk. Things are better than I thought._

"The S-20 unit has in built medical equipment and its arms are better suited to do such work."

"Alright, I've given them permission to dock." Shepard typed into his omnitool. Moments later he was greeted by two other geth platforms. They looked similar to the normal geth except that their fingers were thinner and steadier.

Shepard stared through the window as the two geth strode into the clean room. Tali was lying on a bed, unmoved. The readouts said that anesthetic had already been administered. He watched silently as the first geth prepared to make the first cut.

Shepard spun around, not wanting to watch the horror that lay just behind him. As he walked back to the elevator, every step felt like an eternity. His eyes reddened as he waited for the elevator to arrive. When he stepped in, a single tear fell from his cheek.


	18. New Faces

Normandy SR2 Briefing room

Shepard stood on the holographic projector as Joker connected the channel to the Citadel council. Three holograms flickered to life right in front of Shepard's eyes.

Almost instantly, the Turian councilor yelled at him "Commander Shepard! What is the meaning of this."

He wasn't in the mood to argue with him so he just tried to keep responses short "What…" he just answered wearily

"This!" The Turian councilor screamed again as he tapped on his omnitool and pointed to the screen.

As the screen came into view, Shepard saw the footage. It was from Khalisah Al-Jilani's reporting drone/camera. As the video played, it showed her interviewing his mother and Tali. After what looked like a heated disagreement (Sorry, no audio), Hannah Shepard got up from her seat and punched her in the face before leaving.

"So? How do you explain!" The Turian councilor resumed his usual shouting at Shepard.

"It's my mother, what can I do? That reporter was a bitch anyway. So why the hell not?" Shepard's words were slightly slurred and incoherent. His voice was hoarse and he was trying to force himself to actually put up with this shit.

"I see you are in no condition to have this conversation" the Salarian noticed Shepard's red eyes, hoarse voice and overall tiredness. "I'm sorry about the harassment to your wife though."

"They're all like that. It's all 'what is a quarian doing here'. Then they realize that she's related to me and then it's 'oh I'm so sorry'. You all are never sincere!" Shepard's sleepiness was getting to him. He had spent the last day crying and worrying and thinking and worrying some more.

"To put it honestly, Quarians are now openly welcome in the citadel. There has been some resistance at first but they aren't shunned like they were used to. In fact they are quite nice people."

"Great," he replied, trying to force as much enthusiasm into it as possible. "Keep it that way." He stepped off the receiver platform and walked out of the briefing room.

Walking out of the briefing room, he noticed a small hooded figure standing by the door. "Oh, you're up." He said as he turned to facer her.

"Yes. I don't really know how I even got back here. People I asked all said 'maybe later' or 'I don't know'. I asked Miranda where you were and she said you were having a meeting with the council."

"So you came to watch me shout?"

"It's funny and you know it." She playfully punched his chest "Anyways, I thought you may be able to explain what went on the last few days."

Shepard's face formed a frown as he pointed a finger to the ceiling, indicating 'talk in my cabin'.

Citadel, Zakera Wards

Garrus Vakarian sighed as he walked past the C-Sec headquarters. _Sometimes I regret ever leaving. Wonder if I'll ever see her again._

He shook that thought from his head and continued walking. He was supposed meet a contact outside the Dark Star lounge. Someone had sent him a message saying that she had info about Antonio, the person who kidnapped Tali and Kasumi.

_Strange, where is the contact? I thought she mentioned that she will be here?_

"Ugh, how will I even tell how my contact looks like." Garrus muttered to himself. Suddenly someone grabbed him from behind, one hand over his mouth and one hand held his hands behind his back.

"Garrus Vakarian?" Garrus merely grunted an "Um hm" in reply. The figure let go and motioned for him to follow. Garrus followed him/her to a quite alleyway.

His contact pulled back her hood revealing her face. She was a human with long black hair. She was wearing a sophisticated robe with many throwing knives attached to her belt.

She put out a hand and introduced herself. "Rosa la Maria Auditore, nice to meet you."

Garrus took the hand and shook it. "So you know something about Antonio?"

She shook her head saying, "Not exactly. But I have an assassination contract for his boss, Vido Santiago. Maybe if I could join Shepard's crew we could work together?"

"And how do I know that this isn't an excuse to get near and kill him." He motioned towards all the knives and what not attached to her suit.

"Ah very cautious I see. You have my word, I will be more useful than you think."

"Alright, follow me."

Normandy SR2 Captain's Cabin

"Err, Tali, my shirt is getting wet." Tali continued to cry into his shoulder, ignoring the comment. "No, seriously," He pulled her away from his shoulder and looked straight into her eyes.

"Tali, if there's one thing I've learnt over these past few years, it's going to be able to let something go." He stared at the wet, glowing eyes that lay before him. "It's over, there's nothing we can do. Nothing anyone can do."

Using a thumb to wipe away her tears, he felt his own eyes begin to well up with tears. "I know it's hard, I know how it feels losing something you love and cherish. Furthermore something you haven't even seen. But I tried, Legion tried, but it didn't work. I'm sorry." He wiped his own tears with the sleeve of his uniform.

Tali let out a small laugh, trying to slow her sobbing. Looking back at her Shepard frowned "What's so funny. Just five minutes ago you were crying your heart out."

"It's just so ironic," she said the words in between sobs "First you tell me not to cry then you cry."

"Not just your child." Shepard was actually close to angry "Here, put your mask back on."

After clicking her mask back in place, Tali put her head back onto Shepard's shoulder, this time resting it not crying. Shepard took the moment to comfort her. He stroked the back of her neck, the part that she liked most, while assuring her.

"I know these are difficult times. But I promise you, after this, we are going to start a new life. After the reapers, I'm not going to do the council's dirty work anymore. I'm just going to kick back and re-"

"Joker to Shepard, there is somebody who wants to meet you"

"Now?" Tali brought her head back up and stopped sobbing upon realization that things were still going on.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I break the moment? Yes that person can wait three to five years."

"Yes I get the idea Joker."

Normandy SR2 Bridge

Tali had gone down to talk to Kasumi. She wanted to know how her friend was coping with her injuries. She needed someone to talk to anyway.

"Shepard, someone here says that Antonio is linked to Vido Santiago"

"And who is this 'someone' that you're referring to." Almost instantly, a hooded figure dressed entirely in white slipped past Garrus and ended up right in front of Shepard. _Crap, another sneaky type._

"I'm Rosa la Maria Auditore, nice to see that we are meeting face to face Captain Shepard."

"Captain Shepard is my mom. I'm Commander Shepard."

"I'm so sorry for the mistake." She took a light bow to show her sincerity in her apology.

"Auditore, hmm… I think I heard that name somewhere."

"Yes, my ancestor was Ezio Auditore."

"Ezio Auditore, as in the legendary assassin that Ezio Auditore?"

"Yes, in fact I am wearing the same armour he wore many centuries ago. It may not be as strong as yours but it is light and does not hinder my agility."

"Alright, so what information do you have?"

"I have a lot. A summary is that Vido Santiago is the head of the Blue Suns. It seems that Fist, the man you killed some two years ago, was related to Antonio. He brought things into his own hands and kidnapped your friends." She took out a datapad and handed it to him.

"You think I could stay with your crew and serve under you after we sort this out?"

"Yeah I suppose. Hooded ladies on deck three. Turn right after exiting the elevator. Do you have a short name or something like that? I can't call you Rosa la Maria every time right?"

Rosa raised an eyebrow at his first comment before replying to his question. "You can just call me Rosa."

Crew Deck

Tali was chatting with Kasumi about their problems as usual.

"So remind me, why did you start liking Shepard."

"Kasumi, why do we have to go through this every time?" Kasumi couldn't help but notice a slight shimmer at the doorway.

"It's fun to know about your past. It's better if you learn not to be embarrassed about these things." Again Kasumi saw a shimmer. But it wasn't the usual shimmer that a cloak gave off. It was more of a shadowy blur. Instinctively, she pulled a knife from her side and threw it at the blur.

Suddenly, she was faced with a lady with a white hood with her palm at her throat.

"What are you going to do? Slap me?" Turning her hand away from Kasumi, Rosa ejected her hidden blade with a flick of her wrist.

"Kasumi Goto, nice to meet you."

"Rosa la Maria Auditore. Just call me Rosa." Rosa took a traditional bow "I see you have very good vision and reflexes."

"Uh huh. But what's with the special cloak?"

"There is no cloak, no technology. I do not even have a cloaking devise on my omnitool. I'm just, well, fast. I prefer using environment to my advantage."

"I see. A free runner. I heard of your ancestor. Ezio Auditore, always able to kill people and get away with it."

"So you have heard. I foresee that we will be good friends." She turned to look at Tali "And you must the famous engineer I've heard about."

"I'm famous? Wow."

"That's what you get for hanging out with the Commander." Kasumi giggled as the added in her own comment.

"See for yourself." She tapped into her omnitool and the video of Khalisah's interview of Shepard's mother popped up.

"Don't remind me again."

"We're a trio now. All with hoods. How clichéd" Kasumi stood up from the couch with Tali following suit.

"That's nice. I hope I can fit in. I don't think the crew might take well to an assassin."

So happen Thane was walking by to the mess hall when he overheard their conversation. He couldn't resist but comment.

Rosa heard a voice behind her saying "That's what they want you to think." But when she turned around there was nobody.

"That's Thane, a drell assassin." Rosa turned back to face Kasumi and Tali "I'm sure you'll get used to having someone faster than you."

They three started to stroll out to the mess hall to get something to eat. Along the way, Rosa faced Tali and asked "So, why did you start liking Shepard?"

Tali just put her hand to her visor in a quarian's face palm.


	19. Old Friends

Normandy SR2

"So Zaeed, you were in the Blue Suns right?" Zaeed was in his room, carefully wiping his precious assault rifle.

"Yeah, what do you want to know?" he put the rag down and carefully placed the assault rifle back on the rack. "You didn't come down just to beat me up again I hope."

Brushing off his comment, Shepard crossed his hands in front of his chest "Heard of a guy named Vido Santiago?"

"Heard of him?" Zaeed's eyes widened "Hell I want to kill him." He took a seat before continuing. "It started like this, Vido and I started the blue suns. He betrays me and left me alone for dead. Now I consider him 'unfinished business'. Why did you ask?"

"Congratulations, there's an assassin that joined us hoping to get rid of Vido too. So now there's three people after his head."

"Three?"

"His second in command Antonio was behind Tali's kidnapping. Apparently he had a bond with Fist, the guy I killed some years back to save Tali." Shepard shook his head. "Now his cousin or brother or whatever, Antonio comes back with a vengeance and bites me in the ass."

Picking up his assault rifle, Zaeed turned and walked towards the door "Hope you see my usefulness now."

Normandy Airlock

"I have tracked Santiago all the way to Illium. He was at the planet Zorya but he left a few days back." Rosa clicked at her omnitool. "Interesting, he has been tracked to Nos Astra."

"Maybe Liara has some info on him. I mean she is a information broker right?"

"If I know Vido well enough he will be planning something big. Comes with being in charge of one of the largest merc groups in the entire fucking universe."

"Then that figlio di puttana (son of a bitch) had better not risk civilian lives again. His past operation cost many innocent lives. Him and his vicious campaign."

"This kind of makes me rethink. All the times I got things done, but at what costs? Wrex died because I didn't choose my words well, people died. Innocent people fell because I chose to go after the baddie instead of protecting them."

"HEY!" Zaeed shook Shepard with two arms "We can hear that you know. Not the time for reminiscing. Now's the time for revenge. I heard what you said, but revenge comes at a price. I'm willing to pay for it." Zaeed let go of Shepard and took a step out and into the depth of Nos Astra.

Liara's Office

"Shepard! It's been so long since we've met." Liara stepped up from her desk and caught Shepard in her embrace, a basic sign of courtesy. After returning the hug, Shepard sat down in a chair opposite her.

Taking her own seat, Liara arranged some of her documents before looking up "So, what brings you here? The first time you recruited an assassin and then a Justicar."

"I need to find the Blue Suns head, Vido Santiago. Heard of him?"

"Should be. I did remember news about a very important Blue Suns high ranker to arrive here. He came in two days ago. When I tried to probe for info on where he could be, the only reply I got and always got was 'Do A Notorious Thing In Understanding Salarians'. To me it was all bullshit."

"Why would you be interested in Santiago?"

"Well, I figured many people would be willing to pay for such important information. Either way, the Blue Suns have been nothing but the pain in the ass. Always causing trouble, even more than the Eclipse if I may say so. All information does come at a price, but for you? All free."

"Thanks Liara."

"Shepard," Liara caught him before he stood to leave. "I see you have new recruits, could I know them?"

"No problem, I have the most interesting people here." He pointed at Rosa who was standing in a corner, white hood pulled over her head "Rosa la Maria Auditore, descendant of famous earth assassin Ezio Auditore."

"And here," he jerked a thumb behind him at Zaeed who stood with arms behind his back "Is Zaeed Massani. Co-founder of the Blue Suns, betrayed by Vido Santiago, hungering for revenge."

"Interesting, before you leave, I think you might want to know that the Blue Suns 'official' also had many crates of technology with him, all transported together with his shuttle. It isn't weapons, just raw technology."

"I'll see about that, thanks for all your help Liara." Shepard pushed his chair backwards and stood up, stretching his arms.

"Any time Shepard, any time."

Half way across the universe

"I am tired of this waiting, we will launch a major offensive now! I will go and draw them out while the rest of you move to the Citadel. They must not know that we are coming."

"That is true. Overlord and I will take the front and lead the assault on the Citadel."

"No! Chaos will lead that attack himself. I need Overlord for another assignment. He is one of the few tanker reapers. They are capable of sustaining damage that would normally kill one of us."

"And you will need for what?" Overlord chimed in

"I need you to retrieve Shepard's body. We still have yet to create a template for human reapers. His body is the perfect example. With the technological implants that he has, we can find him easily."

"Yes Harbinger. So I just find him and bring him to you?"

"Yes, and if possible, kill of his irritating crew mates."

Illium, Eternity bar

"So… what do you think that password meant?"

The group had sat at a round table, all pondering the meaning of the Blue Suns' password. Do A Notorious Think In Understanding Salarians. Shepard tried all sorts of ways, saying it backwards, in Turian language, Quarian language, they all didn't fit.

"Hey, Shep," Rosa lightly tapped the Commander's shoulder.

"You picked that up from Kasumi didn't you. Either way, what is it?"

Pondering about it, she decided it was best if she just asked. "What does Dantius mean?"

"Oh, it's the name of Nassana Dantius, founder of the proud Dantius towers, one bitch of a woman, and an assassination target. Why did you ask? Heard it from somewhere?"

"Hah, most likely trying to find a better assassination target than Vido!" Rosa's quick response was a flick of her wrist and a blade tip placed just in front of Zaeed's neck, making him gulp loudly.

"Look, if you take the first letter of each word, they form Do A Notorious Thing In Understanding Salarians. D-A-N-T-I-U-S."

Slamming his fist into his palm, Shepard exclaimed loudly, gaining the attention of several other patrons "That's where they're going! Dantius towers!" As they exited the bar with several annoyed glares being shot at them, Shepard told the two, "In case any of you were wondering, Nassana Dantius is dead. I'm sorry Rosa."

"It's alright, where we are going, there's going to be no shortage of volunteers."

The three dangerous killers slowly made their way to the taxi stand. Shepard shot his hand out into the air and waved it about, flagging down a taxi with an Asari driver.

The Asari pulled her taxi up next to Shepard and rolled down the window "Where to?"

"Dantius towers" the Asari cringed at his reply. The pondered the request for a moment before agreeing

"But you would have to get out quick, I heard there's a lot of commotion going on there. I don't want to get involved."

Rosa slipped into the backseat followed by Zaeed while Shepard made his way into the front seat. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused, but you are already involved."

"I'm sorry I didn't get what you meant." The Asari kicked the machine's engine to life and it hovered off the floor, "Who are you anyways? Why do you even want to go Dantius tower? Especially since Nassana got killed by an assassin."

"I'm Commander Shepard, nice to meet you."

"Oh… oh."

The rest of the journey was quite silent. Zaeed was patiently cleaning his gun, as always, and saying nice stuff about it to it. Rosa was busy wiping off dried blood that stained her hidden blade. Shepard was looking out the window and admiring the wonderful sights of Illium while the driver nervously took them to their destination.

"We're here," the Asari pulled the vehicle up to the porch. Instantly two armed guards walked up to the taxi.

"You should leave, now" the first one said

"See the insignia, they're blue suns" Zaeed whispered to Shepard. Rosa quietly stepped out of the taxi from the other side.

She walked up to the guards and put one hand on each of their shoulders. Her left hand on the first guard while her right hand fell on the shoulder of the second one. "I'm sure we can work something out."

Ignoring the hand, the guard retorted, "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do?"

The driver gasped in shock as Rosa ejected both blades, cutting through the guards' shoulders. They screamed in pain as Rosa pulled the blades out. With another deft flick of her wrists, she plunged the blades into their necks. She took a step back and admired her work, two guards on the floor clutching their necks and blood spilled onto the metal floor.

As a precaution, Shepard and Zaeed unceremoniously threw the bodies into a nearby trash compacter. Wiping his hands, Shepard walked back to the taxi "Thanks for your help. We'll be going now." He pulled out a credit chit and handed it over to the driver.

Meanwhile, Zaeed assessed the situation. Putting his binoculars down, he turned to face Shepard. "We have two guards by the door, none of them noticed what happened. There are three guard patrols around the building, each patrol is a three man squad, all armed."

"Scans show that there are many life signs amassed on the roof. If Vido is anywhere, it's up there." Rosa pointed to the top of the massive building.

"We're going to have to take the lift. We need to go through the front door without alerting anyone. They most likely have an entire army in the building. We just want to get in, go up and take Vido out and then come back down."

"Nothing is as easy as that." Zaeed stood up from behind his cover "Vido would have covered everything."

"Then lets beat him at his own game. Rosa, think you can take one of those guards out?"

"You're asking the wrong question." Without hesitation, Rosa climbed up a piece of nearby scaffolding before leaping to another. Soon, she was overlooking the two door guards.

Shepard pulled out his sniper rifle and tapped on his radio, "Rosa, take the one on the left in three," Shepard attached the silencer "Two," Rosa ejected her hidden blade, ready to strike "One," Zaeed laughed to himself about this being clichéd "GO!"

Shepard fire an incendiary round into the second guard, making the first turn to his buddy, unaware of what was going on. As he was about to reach for his radio, he felt a cold blade stab through his midsection. Looking down, he saw part of a blade sticking out through his stomach. As Rosa retracted the blade, he crumpled to the floor.

Shepard folded his sniper and walked towards the two corpses. Picking one of them up, he motioned to Zaeed "Drag the other one in, we can't let the patrol see the dead bodies. Rather missing than dead."

Without question, Zaeed grabbed the dead body's hands and dragged it in, careful not to leave a trail of blood. The room inside was empty except for two elevators, one of them not constructed fully.

"This lift can only take us to the 40th floor. After that we need to change to the second lift that takes us to floor 80." Shepard checked his omnitool.

"Let's just hope they don't see us then," Rosa stepped past Shepard and hit the elevator call button. "we should ready our weapons, in case there are guards in there."

"Duly noted. Come to think of it, Rosa, do you even have any guns?"

"Of course, look," she used her left hand to grasp her right wrist, index finger on her palm and third, fourth and fifth curling around the hidden blade's mechanism "See this small opening, the bullet comes out from here," she clicked a button and the hidden pistol fired a bullet that embedded itself into the wall.

"But isn't that for long range?" Shepard and curiously, noticing how the gun had so much recoil that she needed an extra hand to stabilize it.

"Yes, the range is about that of a sniper, all in one mechanism" At that precise moment, the elevator arrived. Surprisingly only one guard was present and Zaeed immediately emptied a clip into him.

Stepping into the elevator, Shepard punched the 'Story 40' button. Once the doors had closed, Shepard asked again "So, do you have any other weapons?"

"I have a shotgun on my back and two pistols."

Looking at her robe that covered her entire back with white, Shepard raised an eyebrow "Shotgun?"

In response, Rosa pulled her hood back and pulled an incredibly slim shotgun from her back, hidden beneath her robe that covered her back.

"Uh huh, and your pistols? On your belt I assume?" Shepard pointed to the items attached to her belt.

"10 throwing knives," Rosa pulled her hood back on and pointed at the knives that were diagonally sheathed on her belt. "5 thermal clips and two grenades, in case things go horribly wrong."

"I see you prefer to use your hidden blades instead of guns."

"Yeah, lets you do it stealthily. Guns just attract attention."

"Just curious, where are your pistols? Hidden in your boots?"

"Close, but not exactly" Rosa reached down and pulled up the bottom part of her robe

"AHH!" Shepard put his hands on his eyes "Totally didn't need to see that"

Rosa rolled her eyes in response, "C'mon! I'm wearing pants under this robe unlike my ancestors. Still, have you heard of undergarments?"

"Alright" Shepard slowly removed his hands from his face. Strapped to her thighs were two sleek pistols, carefully holstered.

"Okay, seen enough. We're almost there."

As the doors opened, the backs of four guards faced them. Whispering into his private comm channel, Shepard instructed Rosa to take the first two, Zaeed the third and Shepard the forth.

As Rosa ejected both her blades into their skulls, Zaeed pulled out his knife and plunged it deep into the third's back. While all that was happening, Shepard crept up to the last one and snapped his neck.

"Good, no attention attracted."

"HEY! YOU!" the three turned to see a group of guards slowly walking towards them. They were the size of a small squad, eight men, all armed to the teeth.

"Oh shit," Shepard muttered to himself. "Guys, go loud!"

"Go loud?" Rosa cocked her head to one side.

"Means use your guns or whatever to kill them at all costs, no stealth required."

"Alright," Without even giving off a hint of hesitation, Rosa reached down to her legs and slipped both her pistols neatly into her hands.

As she brought her left hand up she pulled the trigger, releasing the first bullet. As she crossed her left over her right, her right finger fired yet another shot. By the time her left hand was aimed at the third guard, two were already down.

Without any sign of regret, she lowered her pistol and fired an incendiary round at the guard's crotch. As the fourth guard pulled out his assault rifle, his face was met with the butt of Shepard's shotgun.

With another quick burst of Rosa's twin pistols, the heads of the fifth and sixth guard's exploded in a mist of blood. Zaeed made use of the confusion, jumping right in front of the seventh guard, unloading his entire assault rifle clip into his face. Swinging his weapon around, Shepard fired two shotgun slugs into the last guard's stomach.

"Whoah," Zaeed slowly examined the carnage before turning to Rosa who was stowing her pistols "Four perfect headshots, and you made it look so easy"

"Comes with being a modern assassin" Rosa picked up the radio of the guard who was still clutching his crotch desperately.

"Second squad, report." Silence "This is Antonio, I repeat, second squad, report your status." The three kept quiet as he continued talking.

"This is second squad," Zaeed put on the best voice he could, "We ran into a few intruders, but nothing too bad. We have two men KIA"

Both Shepard and Rosa raised an eyebrow at his impersonation but kept quiet. "As expected. Report back up at the roof for further instructions."

"Yes sir." Zaeed shut off the radio and double checked that they won't be over heard.

Stripping the guards of their uniforms, Shepard checked his radio. "Alright, me and Zaeed are going to go in and keep 'em busy. Get Vido as soon as you can confirm a kill. After that we turn on Antonio."

Shepard slammed his fist into his open palm "We're gonna bag em both"


	20. Bagged em' Both

Normandy SR2

"Joker, you think we can go to Rannoch once Shepard comes back? I'm dying to see what the planet looks like!"

"Sure, just give the co-ordinates and we'll go."

Tali slowly walked back to her post in engineering.

_Finally, after 300 years! My people can go back, back to our lives. There will no longer be the need for the flotilla, there will be no Migrant fleet! We can go home! But will home still be home?_

She reached her post at the drive core and started running some diagnostic tests.

_Maybe after the reapers me and Shepard could start a family! Oh yes that would be good. We could settle down, have kids…_

She suddenly stopped typing. Reality was harsh, cruel, uncaring and unforgiving, but it was the truth, it was what is real. She couldn't trust herself to even think of starting a family when she had already lost one member.

"Hey," Tali ignored the voice and continued staring at the drive core. The only 'burial' their child was given was placing it in Grunt's tank. She remembered kneeling down in front of the tank and crying while Grunt shook his head and Shepard was comforting her.

"HEY!" The second shout brook Tali out of her trance. She turned her head to look at Kenneth who was shouting at her.

"Are you alright? You look sad."

"Kenneth," Engineer Gabriella punched him in the shoulder "it's not easy losing a child." she whispered softly "How would you feel if you lost one?"

"Could always make another" Kenneth exclaimed before showing off his award-winning smile.

That made something inside Tali snap. Rage took the place of sadness and sorrow and fueled her hatred for him. She took a step towards him and gripped his neck with her three fingers.

"Tali! Relax, her just made one stupid comment." Engineer Gabby tried to pull her away.

"If you do not value life," Tali hissed at Kenneth "I should just throw you out the airlock." She let go of his neck, tone returning to a solemn one "You don't know how it feels like"

Dantius towers

"We're gonna bag them both!"

"I'll follow both of you until we reach the top, then I'll find a better vantage point."

"Alright, ground team, move out!"

The elevator ride was another horribly long and boring one. Rosa was very nervous and it kept her quiet. If she botched this op, none of them will survive. There was only one chance, one small time frame to get the kill.

After what seemed like an eternity, the doors opened. In front of them lay what was most likely the biggest cannon of all time. As Shepard and Zaeed marched in step to the man who called them over, Rosa quietly slipped away, hiding behind stacks of materials.

"You two," Antonio pointed at Shepard and Zaeed, "Yes, you two. Vido says everything is ready, we just need you to load it up. These bunch of pussies here can't do anything for shit!" He stuck out his middle finger at a bunch of blue suns sitting by stacks of metal and wires where Rosa was hiding.

Zaeed and Shepard walked over to what looked like and ammo pile. They slowly lifted one of the shells and carried it over to the cannon. Out of the corner of his eye, Shepard saw three bodies being thrown over the edge. There were only ten people on the roof, three dead.

Apart from Shepard, Zaeed and Rosa, the only people were Vido, Antonio, two mercs controlling the cannon, and the three who just died. Shepard slowly let his hands go down as the cannon shell fitted into the firing compartment.

"Sir, we are green, fire?" One of the two 'pilots' looked up from his screen.

"Hold it, I have unfinished business." Vido calmly pulled his pistol out and shot Zaeed in the face.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Shepard screamed. "You just killed one of our men!"

"No," Vido put his pistol back and bent down. Removing Zaeed's helmet, he continued talking. "I just killed Zaeed Massani. A traitor, a bastard. I expected him to gate crash sooner or later" Vido stood back up and looked at Shepard, "Get back to work, I'm not paying you to ask questions."

Shepard only chuckled at his statement.

"Laughing at you own demise," Vido whipped his pistol out again "You've got guts I'll give you that."

"I'm laughing at yours!" Vido looked down to see three centimeters of serrated blade sticking out through his stomach. "But how?" Vido stammered as he dropped his gun. "Who? What? You'll pay for this!"

As Rosa pulled her blade out and lowered the body, she knelt down next to it, quietly saying the words her ancestors said when they assassinated someone. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Rest in peace."

As Rosa stood up, Zaeed walked past her, standing at the head of Vido. Coughing up blood, Vido swore loudly. Zaeed had blood dripping down the side of his head, curving around his ear. A constant trickle of blood dripped from his nose, drying up as it neared his chin.

"It's gonna take a lot more to kill me. I'm sure you know that." Zaeed brought his right boot up "You're not destroying this town with your badass cannon today. Rest in pieces bitch!" He brought his right boot down hard on his skull, smashing it into many pieces as his boot hit the bone.

Immediately after, the two piloting guards rushed over to see the commotion. Shepard unclipped his shotgun and silenced the two. Zaeed dropped to one knee as he spit out some blood. "That's gonna hurt tomorrow."

"There is no tomorrow for all of you!" Antonio shouted at them. He pulled out his radio and barked orders into it. "I need men up here now! We have been compromised I repeat we have" Antonio was cut off as Shepard fired a bullet into his hand.

Clutching his hand in pain, Antonio swore at Shepard. The doors of the elevator opened to release tens of blue suns into the small roof. Shepard hit the radio "This is ground team to Normandy. I need backup and medical assistance now!" Shepard dragged Antonio with him as he ducked into cover.

"I'm not done with you."

Normandy SR2

"Thanks for coming by. I need some help." Miranda looked up from her terminal as Jacob walked in. "I need you to help Grunt bring his tank over to the Cerberus vessel nearby. It is already docked here. Think you can do it?"

"Yeah I suppose. But isn't that where Shepard's now dead child is stored in stasis?"

"Exactly." Miranda showed off her trademark evil smirk, showing that she knew something that others didn't.

"Fine, but if anything happens, it's your ass, not mine." Jacob walked out the door, leaving Miranda by herself to think. She continued working on her terminal, completing the logistics of operation EXODUS. In about 1 hours time, the Cerberus cruiser would leave for the EXODUS facility, and life depended on it.

Miranda quickly packed her things and powered off the terminal. Before she left the Normandy, she left a quick note with the yeoman.

"Kelly, when Shepard comes back, tell him I've been transferred to a Cerberus operation and won't be back for about two weeks."

"No problem Ms Lawson. I'll inform Shepard once he gets back." Just then, the PA system blared as Joker made an announcement.

"Normandy Crew, the ground team is in trouble. I need Doctor Chakwas, Mordin, Garrus and Engineer Donnelly at the shuttle now. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill!" The PA system cut as several crew members rushed to replace the posts of those who left.

"I suppose I should leave now."

"Sure, alright. I'll tell him when he arrives."

Dantius Towers, roof

Shepard plunged his knife deep into his abdomen, making him cry out in pain. He pulled out his pistol and unloaded the entire clip into Antonio's face, ending his misery. He heard Rosa's voice call out

"Hey! Think you could help? I'm pinned down with Zaeed and he's bleeding out real quick." She pokes both her pistols out of cover and blindly fired. The shots clipped one of the guards in the arm and leg, essentially taking him out.

_One down, 13 to go._ Shepard popped out of cover for a moment and fired three bursts of his assault rifle. Two bullets of the first burst hit a merc in the chest, flinging him back. The second burst entirely missed and the third hit another in the head, taking him out of the fight. Shepard retreated back into the safety of the box he was hiding behind.

He watched his shields slowly flicker back to life and he reloaded his gun. "Hows it going over there?" He hollered at Rosa who just threw one of Zaeed's flashbangs out before taking two headshots. "Only seven left! I've given Zaeed medigel but I don't think he can hold out any longer!"

Suddenly, a loud shot rung in the air as a merc had his head blown off. Turning around, Shepard saw the Kodiak hovering in mid air with Garrus standing there, smiling away as normal.

As the shuttle drew closer to the roof, Garrus took another shot, making the merc drop to his knees, dead. Shepard took out his shotgun and emptied the clip into two mercs who were trying to get to Zaeed. Rosa slowly dragged Zaeed to his as he stumbled onto the shuttle where Doctor Chakwas bandaged him up and put him on a IV drip.

Deftly hopping off the shuttle, Engineer Donnelly gave Shepard a salute. "You called for me sir?"

"Think you can make sense of that gun? I still want to know what they were planning. Do it quick, I want it done before more reinforcements arrived." Taking his leave, Donnelly proceeded to where the first 'pilot' was and started tapping at the terminal.

"Sir, you might want to see this." Shepard lowered his gun which was pointed at the elevator and walked towards the Scottish engineer. "It's not a cannon at all. It's a giant laser, built for ripping starships apart. It's controllable and incredibly intense. It is possible that they wanted to terrorize the people by a show of force."

Donnelly got up from the terminal and walked back towards the shuttle. Once Shepard took his seat, the engineer pulled out an OSD. "I copied all the information, schematics and all that. It may help us in our reaper war effort."

"Good thinking." Shepard readied his thumb over the ignition. "Are we in safe distance?"

After the reply of 'yes' Shepard hit the button down hard. As he looked out the window, the Dantius Towers were nothing more than two small stubs.

Normandy SR2 Captain's Cabin

Shepard rested his head on the wall at the front of his bed, back supported by a pillow. _Zaeed may be a bastard, but he's my crew! You have got to worry for him right? What kind of captain doesn't care for his crew? He is one tough son of a bitch, actually survived a point blank headshot._

"I told Joker that we're going to Rannoch now, you don't mind right?" Tali was lying against him, her head resting on his shoulder.

"No, no I don't mind. It'll be nice to see what your planet looks like. I'm sure they will have a huge celebration. Quarians are social people right?"

"I'm sure there will be a grand celebration. For 300 years, my people have wondered the galaxy, being shunned by people all over."

"Come to think of it, I haven't really seen quarian couples on the Migrant Fleet. I mean, they are all either in big groups, or alone. Are there really few marriages?" Shepard pulled his gaze from the ceiling and looked at Tali.

"There are many, far too many to count. We are just very busy people, they most likely have very little time to themselves. Humans seem to give their crew a lot of alone time."

"But take Kal' Reegar for example, he's such a nice guy. Don't tell me nobody's tried to hit on him."

Tali sat back up on the bed, "You see, as I have said before, we are very busy. Most of the time people marry mainly to reproduce. Love is something that is slightly distant for us."

"Then that isn't true love right?"

"True love? You mean there is a fake love and a true love?" Tali had a confused face on "So you could be faking that you love me!" She gasped loudly.

"Tali," he grabbed her to calm her down "You're getting it wrong! There is no fake love, oh come on! True love is like if you really care for someone and willing to protect them, even willing to make sacrifices for them."

_They watched as the human reaper started to crumble and fall. But their victory was short lived as one of the arms catches on to the platform that they were standing on. As the reaper fell, it's arm drags part of the platform down, causing Tali to slip down the side._

_Instantly, Shepard jumped down to rescue her. Instantly, without thought, without reason, without question. He had made a sacrifice made for the hope of rescuing the other, no doubts, no regrets._

Tali had calmed down after the brief flashback. It gave her strength that he was always there for her. So it **was** true love.

"What people mean by true love is that they use it to compare against liking someone because they are beautiful and whatever. It's just that, what you said made me think that quarian marry just to have sex and reproduce. Sounds, well, wrong."

"I never really liked it either, but we have to survive, our race cannot be wiped out. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah," Shepard laid back on the bed casually "I understand."

Tali snuggled up next to him and put and arm around his neck. Using her other hand for support, she put one leg onto him and rested sideways on the bed.

There was a knock on the door followed by a female voice "Commander, may I come in? I need to explain the schematics of the laser cannon and the requirements."

"Come in!" Shepard yelled over to the doorway. Engineer Gabby walked in, reading through a datapad as she did. She looked up to see Shepard in bed.

"I'm sorry, am I disturbing anything?" She took a step backwards, ready to leave if need be.

"Don't worry, it's alright." Shepard sat himself up before flipping himself off the bed. Tali continued to lie there in hopes of getting some sleep before the next day of adventure.

Walking toward the desk, the engineer started to explain softly. "You see, what you loaded into the laser cannon was not the ammo, but a giant battery." She pulled out the original schematics for the weapon and showed it to him.

"That thing sucks up power like hell, but the effect is tremendous. Based on calculations, it could cut through inches of steel instantly and almost no time at all to cut a spaceship in half."

Handing Shepard the datapad that she was reading, she continued to explain, "See these, engineer Donnelly adapted it to our ship. We would have a mega laser, but not as powerful as the one they used. On the up side, we don't have to provide that much power."

Putting the datapad down, Shepard settled into his chair and looked up at her. "I'll approve it as long as I get a full schematics just before we implement it." Gabby gave a quick nod in response "Also, if you need any parts, tell me."

"Alright, I'll see to it commander." With a quick turn off her heels, engineer Gabby was off.

Turning around to face his terminal, a particular message caught his eye. It was among the three unread messages that he had. One of them was spam mail labeled 'find a date on the extranet'. Instant deletion. The second was a check from the Illusive Man in return for the stolen schematics. The third was labeled 'H.O.T.H.'

_Shepard Commander_

_Operation H.O.T.H. has been successfully completed. This is the first matter. The geth that we rewrote has given us new information. It is urgent that you know this. It is reported that some geth were 'indoctrined' by the old machines because we are synthetic, and the old machines are partially synthetic and capable of mind manipulation. We thus want to warn you that if you are within the vicinity of an old machine, it may be able to control you slightly, but not fully. Note, you do not need to be inside to be controlled, unlike fully organic creatures, you have cybernetic implants._

Shepard stared at the blank screen, wondering how he would be controlled. They would be seeing a lot of reapers soon. He could only manage one word.

"Shit!"


	21. Operations, Projects, Plans

Planet Rannoch

"This is amazing! I've always heard stories about how beautiful its nature was but I always thought it was nothing more than a myth."

The shuttle slowly descended through the thick misty clouds, hovering just above ground level. It glided across the fields of flowers and grass. For a planet that been nearly destroyed by an all out war, the geth did a good job returning it to its original biosphere.

"Where do you want to visit first?"

"I don't know, maybe the city?" Tali never took her eyes away from the window. She noticed a small dwelling place at the edge of the horizon "Before that, can we go see what that is?" She pointed out the house for Shepard to see.

"Alright"

After a quick stop to drop Samara off at a meadow, the shuttle continued its journey. She had insisted that she follow on the basis that there would be a nice peaceful place, full of nature, which was the perfect condition for meditating. Garrus had also followed saying that he always wondered what their homeworld would look like. Naturally, Legion tagged along in case they ran into any geth.

Getting out of the shuttle, Tali ran over to the construct, admiring its architecture and beauty. There was a living room, large and furnished with furniture. They were new, not torn or full of bullet holes, almost as if someone came and placed them here. The room next to it was a bed room with a bed, furniture, etc. Again, they were all brand new.

Upstairs was three rooms, equally furnished and well designed. She took the stairs back down and went back out to meet the landing party. The shuttled had dropped them off in need of refueling.

"Wow, didn't know post war buildings look this nice. You guys sure have a thing for art." Garrus was slightly taken aback by the intricacy of the design.

"That's the same thing that I was thinking. Legion, do you have any information on this?"

Legion waved the two panels on the side of his head once, indicating that they were processing data, before answering.

"Operation H.O.T.H. Abbreviation for 'House On The Hill' Start date: Unknown" Legion paused a short while "Operation involved building of quarian dwelling, specific, house, at location 264,823. Architecture to follow blueprints provided, refer to house_, to follow quarian design and structure."

"Still doesn't answer who built it and why." Tali crossed her hand, annoyed at the geth who, as built not to, was unable to sense her emotions.

"Instigator of operation: Creator Rael'Zorah. Approval of operation given by: Admiral Rael'Zorah. Manager of operation: Shepard Commander. Platforms tasked to operation: Building platforms B-26, B-85, B-46 and B-78. Reasons for instigation of project unknown. Possibly for reconstruction purposes. End of data file."

Tali stared at Legion, then stared at the house, back at Legion then at Shepard and finally at Garrus.

"Hey, I didn't know!" Garrus raised both arms in the air defensively.

"My father planned this…" she took one step towards the house, now looking at it with a different light. "But why are you involved?" She abruptly turned and faced Shepard.

Shepard tapped on his omnitool before playing the audio log for everyone to hear.

"Commander Shepard, this is Rael'Zorah. I'm sure you know me as Tali's father. Geth have overrun the research facility and I need you to help me with something. Attached is the blueprints for a house I promised Tali. Complete it for me for I fear I may not live to complete it myself. I know that I planned for my family to use it, but I'm afraid that's not going to happen. I'm sure you have better use for it, you know what I mean. And one more thing, keep her safe for me, please. Rael'Zorah out."

The audio log ended as Tali hugged Shepard tightly. He could hear her short sobs as she pressed her helmet tightly against his chest. Shepard only hugged her back, comforting her in the only way that he could. He knew she may or may not listen, but he said it anyway.

"He transferred the project over to my name. He did say that we should use it someday, and I intend to keep to that. What do you think?"

Tali slowed her sobs and tilted her head up slightly, allowing her glowing eyes to meet Shepard's gaze and smile. "But our child." She started crying again "He's gone, forever"

"Tali," he tiled her helmet to face him "Tali, I know it's difficult. I didn't say we have to forget about him, but we have to let go. How do you think I feel? I have been blaming myself. I shouldn't have let you go alone. If I had followed you wouldn't have got into trouble."

Tali stared hard into his sparkling eyes. He was right. She wasn't to blame. It was Shepard. No, it was no one. It just, happened. Nobody knew, nobody could have known the consequences. The people who did this had already paid. What more was there to do?

"No one said it was easy." Shepard heaved a large sigh as he looked up to the sky and closed his eyes.

"Erm, Tali. Is it like, winter here or something?"

Tali turned her head to look at Garrus, who was collecting snow with his hands. "I don't know. Honestly, I don't even know this planet well."

"Well, I think we should all get inside. Don't know about you but I'm glad that your dad built this house."

"Can anyone read me, this is the Normandy"

Immediately, Shepard snapped back to attention "This is Commander Shepard"

"Glad to hear, Joker here, the connection just got cut moments ago. It's the weather it's creating a lot of interference. Ain't safe to pick you up now. We're going to drop rations. You're going to need it. By the… zzz… snow… zzz… can you read…? Joker out"

"What was that all about?" Tali looked at Shepard. Legion had already followed Garrus into the construct. "Joker said that the weather is creating problems. Won't be leaving until tomorrow. Said something about rations…" Immediately, a huge box dropped down next to them, scaring them out of their wits.

"Well, we got our food. We should get inside." But Tali placed two hands on his chest, stopping him from going any further.

"Can we talk?"

"Certainly." He put the box onto the floor. "Not too long though. I don't want to freeze my ass of out here."

"Do you think that, maybe after the reapers, if we survive the reapers, we could start a family?"

"Why not? I mean your dad allowed me to use this awesome house and marry an awesome woman."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Your dad already agreed to the marriage."

"But he died! Before we were even married!"

Shepard tapped on his omnitool, scrolling through the vast number of messages, video records, audio logs that he received. Eventually, he found the right one.

_Commander Shepard,_

_I heard of how Tali talks about you. She seems to like you a lot. Thank you again for allowing her to serve aboard your ship. She has done a lot for us, not just the Migrant Fleet, but also quarians everywhere. I also thank you for looking out for us when you can. After saving Veetor from Freedom's progress, I heard from a young quarian named Kenn who claimed that you helped him pay off his fees so that he could complete his pilgrimage. We do not see such kindness often._

_Nevertheless, I am working on a very dangerous project and may not be able to live very long. That would mean that I will not be able to see my daughter grow up and get married. So, in advance, yes, I allow._

_Rael'Zorah out_

"So you're saying that my father actually agreed to our marriage long before we did."

"Yes"

"Did I really behave that obviously?" Tali put her hands on her hips

"According to his messages, yes. Apparently you talked a lot about me to him."

"Yea, but that wasn't exactly what I wanted to ask about." Tali moved her hand in front her, wringing them nervously.

"Then what was it about?"

Shepard knew that Tali was nervous. Extremely. The signs were obvious, the constant wringing of hands, in ability to get the words out, stuttering when they did and blabbing when they came out wrong. The only time he saw her like this was before the Omega-4 Relay, so it had to be something, well, uh hum.

Tali finally found the courage to ask the question, screw what Shepard might think of her question. "Could we have another child?"

"You're asking the wrong guy the wrong question" Shepard gave a wide grin.

EXODUS facility

"Are you absolutely sure that the EXODUS project would work?"

"Are you doubting me?"

"No ma'am. It's just hard to believe. You do know that the subject is of a different race. And then after reconstruction and revival, what? Let it grow in a tank?"

"It will work. And after basic revival, we just replace whatever is necessary with organic material. Remember, it is still growing. Adaptation to the material will allow the subject to grow as per normal. Then we could replant it back."

"What! She would never agree to that!" The scientist was taken aback at her suggestion, let along the idea of it. He actually questioned the entire project.

"Yes she would. The subject will grow normally, I assure you that."

"Does the subject have a name? Better than calling it 'the subject'. If you know what I mean."

"Yes I did overhear a name" Seating herself behind her desk, Miranda placed her elbows on it, clasping her hands in front of her. She smiled slightly as she thought about what she was doing.

"Tasha"


	22. Home Stay

Rannoch

"How long are we gonna stay here for?" Garrus paced back and forth impatiently.

"Time not specified" Legion replied in his usual monotone before putting his system back into hibernation.

Garrus walked to the door, opening it slightly to check on the weather. The snow was getting heavier. The blizzard caused the air to fog up into a mist, disallowing anyone to see further than 50 meters. There was already snow collecting on the evergreen grass and Shepard was nowhere to be seen.

"Shepard! You coming in or are you going to freeze out there?"

"Surprise!" Shepard tapped Garrus on the shoulder, making him jump "Hey, I helped to design this place, I know where the back door is." Garrus turned around to see him carrying a big box, presumably rations and thermal blankets.

"Joker was kind enough to drop us some food. I hope there are warm clothes in there too." Shepard lowered the box onto a table in the living room before he proceeded to unlatch it. He flipped the cover open to reveal its contents. The first part was food. Numerous packets of biscuits, some field rations which included stew, gumbo and other stuff.

Under the food were two packs of cards with a note attached saying

_Hi, I put these in just in case you got bored of making out with Tali. Hope to see you soon :)_

_Joker_

Shepard just shook his head and carried on unpacking. There were two thermal blankets and three windbreaker jackets. There were also matches, lighters and other useful items such as pocket knives, multi tools, etc.

THUMP

The loud sound startled Shepard and got him up to his feet. _That came from upstairs. Maybe I should go check it out._ Shepard left the food in the kitchen and the box on the table before he made his way up the stairs.

THUMP

There it was again, the same loud sound. Shepard's hand naturally gripped his holstered pistol, just in case some wildlife had found its way into the house. Just as he reached the top and rounded the corner, he caught sight of Garrus desperately rubbing his forehead.

"I heard a loud thumping sound, what happened." Shepard relaxed his body as he walked toward Garrus.

"You people have such low doorways." He pointed to the room next to him "Banged my head on the top while trying to get to the toilet! Can you imagine that?"

"Oh thank goodness it was just you, I though some animal flew in and tried to wreak havoc on this place."

"You have an out of this world imagination. Anyways, Tali and I fixed the rooms. You and her get the bottom room and I take the first room on the second floor. I'm sure Legion doesn't mind standing in the living room." He looked over the banister to see him still standing there, unmoved. "Wonder if he ever rests."

"Something tells me we are forgetting something or someone…"

"Tali's in the room if that's what you're asking."

"No, no. It's not that. Hm…"

"Then you must be hungry. Because I am!" Garrus rushed down the stairs toward the kitchen.

"Hm… nah, must be the hunger."

'Pleasant Meadow' some 1,2 kilometers away

Samara sat quietly as she watched the clouds roll past. So far it had been very pleasant apart from a slight drop in temperature which she assumed was normal for this planet.

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore it. Surely meditating would get her mind off things.

She stilled herself while listening to the soft chirping of birds, something most people took for granted. Despite her clear mind, she wondered how the others were doing. Maybe they found the city, or a good place to stay for the day.

It was getting late. She could see the sun set slowly as the fiery ball of light disappeared over the horizon. Lifting a hand to her head, she tried to remove the something that had dropped on her just a few moments before. _It had better not be bird poop_.

But there was nothing, just water. She waiting a few moments before another similar object dropped onto her open palm. Snow. She immediately stood up. If it was going to snow, she should try to get to shelter before it got heavy and blocked her vision. She could see a small structure in the distance. It didn't look too far away so she decided it was where she was headed to.

_That was quite pleasant, while it lasted. I hope this weather is not too serious, I wouldn't want to be caught out here in the cold and biotics can only carry you that much further._

Normandy SR2

"So you're saying they're gonna be stuck down there for another 24 hours?"

"Yes"

Joker rubbed the sides of his temples before patting his growling stomach "At least they have food. Now I'm going to have to go down there." Joker positioned himself so he wouldn't break a bone when he got out of his seat.

"Sit down Joker, I got your share" Rosa walked over to the helm, carrying a tray of food.

"Wow, umm, thanks I suppose"

"Don't worry about it" and she was off as quickly as she came.

Rosa decided that it was time she got to know the rest of the crew. She already knew Garrus, Kasumi, Thane, Tali and Shepard. Apart from those select individuals, not much. She looked at the elevator and wondered where she would start at.

"Hmm… maybe engineering."

_Let's see, crew members at engineering: Tali (out) Zaeed, Grunt, Jack, Kenneth, Gabriella. That seems alright I suppose._

She hit the button and the elevator began its ever slow descent.

She decided to start with Jack. Following the instructions, she managed to walk down to the depths of the ship, eventually finding Jack's 'quarters'.

"Erm, are you Jack?"

"Yeah, who wants to know?"

Rosa took a good look at her. She wore nothing but leather straps on top and long slacks on the bottom. Add along a big attitude and that was Jack.

"I'm Rosa, I just wanted to know the rest of the crew. I'll be going now."

"Yeah, you go do that."

Next, she decided to visit Grunt. By the name, Rosa thought she would be facing a battle hardened soldier, or a war veteran of some sort. But she nearly got a fright when she turned the corner and came face to face with a Krogan.

*Gulp* "Are you Grunt?"

"Yes. And who are you?"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rosa."

"Hmp, are you an engineer?"

"Why would I be an engineer?"

"You look a lot like that quarian. With the hood and all that"

"Just the hood. I'm an assassin."

"And I AM KROGAN!" Grunt shouted out loudly

"Ok, I think I should go meet the others now." Rosa deftly sidestepped out the door.

Hopefully Zaeed was a nicer person. There was some mention of merc veteran somewhere.

His door opened to reveal him carefully cleaning his assault rifle with a rag. Unsurprising to Rosa. Good soldiers always took care of their weapons, although she forgot the last time she took the bracer off to wipe dried blood off it.

She cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. "Zaeed?"

"Yes, that's me"

"I'm Rosa, the new assassin. Nice to meet you" She stuck a hand out but it was ignored. "So… what have you done for the ship so far?"

"Let's see… I raped the commander's wife by accident, then got tortured, then I accidentally insult his mom and some Cerberus bitch on this ship, then I was with you when Vido died" He paused to check if that was all "Yeah, pretty much."

"You raped Tali by accident! How's that even possible, I mean accidental rape?"

"Nah, the fun time was intended. Just didn't know she was already with Shepard"

"Then after that you insult his mom and the rest of the crew."

"Yup,"

"Alright, I'm leaving now"

"Suit yourself"

_Hopefully the last two were better. She had seen them before when she came down to say hi to Tali. If I remember correctly, their posts were by the drive core, next to Tali's post._

As she drew closer, she could overhear their conversation.

Kenneth: "You think our commander is alright down there?"

Gabby: "I'm sure he'll be fine. It's just a little cold I presume"

Kenneth: "Yea, and he'll keep warm by sharing body heat with someone"

Gabby: "Kenneth! What if someone hears you?"

Kenneth: "It's true, haven't you heard? Having sex produces heat"

Peeping inside, she could see a playful smile on his face. After which Gabby punched him in the shoulder.

Maybe it was enough of meet and greets for one day.

Rannoch, The House

"Brr… it's getting cold here. You sure you didn't install a heater or something?"

"For the fifth time no!"

Shepard himself was getting very cold. He was already wrapped up in a thermal blanket and had a wind breaker jacket on.

"So are we just going to die out here? It's not very honorable if you ask me, death by cold because we decided to take back a homeworld." Garrus shivered slightly "I don't think it'll look good on our graves don't you think?"

"I don't know! I've run out of ideas, and matches too." Shepard glanced over to see that the fire in the fireplace had gone out, again.

"I wonder if Tali has any ideas?" Garrus looked over to Tali who was sitting next to Shepard. "Hello… anyone there?" Again, no response

"Hey, Tali, are you okay?" Shepard leaned in closer to her mask, looking for a response.

Very softly, Tali muttered something in between shivers "I'm freezing you bosh'tet!"

"What did she say?" Garrus had high hopes for a grand idea for a heater or something, considering that Tali was a mechanical genius.

"She said that she's freezing"

"Well that's sad. I just hope we don't have to last resort this"

"What is your last resort? Since we're all freezing to death over here, I may even consider it."

"But it's quite inappropriate" Garrus let out another breath of warm air onto his hands.

"C'mon! It may save our lives!"

"Usually on the field, people share body heat"

"So we just hug together?"

"Yea, except that usually people take off their armour and clothes for better heat sharing"

Shepard glanced over to Tali, then back and Garrus "Are you very sure the three of us naked under one blanket is going to work out?"

"Oh, I see what you mean. Hmm…" Garrus scratched his chin "What about the two of you huddle, and I stay here happy, freezing and **clothed**"

"Maybe… Tali, what do you think?"

"I don't care… as long… as I'm warm…"

"Okay, improvised idea! We all keep our clothes on." Shepard exclaimed as Tali snuggled up next to him under the blanket.

After a while, Tali was still as cold as ever "I'm not getting any warmer,"

"Nor am I"

"Now you see why people take their clothes off?" Garrus shot Shepard a 'told you so' smile.

"Fine…"

Still under the blanket, Tali unclipped her enviro suit and chucked it out the side of the blanket. Normally quarians didn't wear anything under their suit as they had it on all the time. They didn't really see the need for this alien thing called 'underwear'.

Also under the blanket (jeez, it must be big) Shepard removed his armour and pulled his shirt off. Essentially, they both managed to strip while under a blanket. Call it awesome? Garrus did, don't worry.

Tali heaved a huge sigh of relieve as she felt Shepard's warm body pressed against hers. There really wasn't any room for dirty thoughts here, for all were focused on survival on this godforsaken planet called home.

"Garrus, this is quite effective"

"Easy for you to say. I hope Legion's machinery I warm" Still shivering, Garrus walked over to Legion, hugging it tightly. "Ahhh… good thing he kept his motors on.

"I do not understand your intentions. This 'hug', is it not a gesture of appreciation? What has this platform done to deserve this 'hug' as you would call it?"

Shepard let out a small laugh as Garrus hesitantly let go of Legion. Now that he was huddled up with Tali and slightly warmer, maybe it was time to get some rest. He let out a loud yawn as he hugged Tali's body tightly while she did the same.

Zzz…

Zzz…

Okay, after a long while, maybe 3 hours.

BANG… BANG… BANG

Garrus was awoken by the sudden loud sounds. He jumped to his feet, throwing the blanket off him. He suddenly realized that it wasn't as cold as before. Still very cold, but not freezing. Garrus slowly walked to the door,

BANG!... BANG!

The banging sound got louder as he pressed his ear against the door. In fact, it was possible that someone or something was trying to get in.

"Shepard!" Garrus walked over to his spot on the couch. Tali was still next to him "Tali!"

"Shepard, someone or something is trying to get in!" But nothing worked, Shepard was still fast asleep. But Tali wasn't.

She woke up to find herself in Shepard's embrace, which was quite comforting on a cold night. Then she heard some banging sounds following by Garrus standing over them saying someone was trying to get in.

"Shepard, wake up" She shook Shepard gently.

"Wake up or we are all going to die!" Tali grabbed his shoulders and shook them violently.

Shepard sat up, startled "What! Who's going to die?"

"Nah, something's just trying to get in. Most likely some local wildlife, but considering their weather, this animal might just bite our heads off."

"Point taken." Shepard flung his legs over the side of the couch and put them onto the floor. The icy cold floor made him flinch before he took a few steps and got used to it.

Due to Shepard's getting off the couch, the blanket was thrown off and Tali was now sitting there entirely naked. Immediately she protested "Hey!"

"Don't worry, I won't look" Garrus gave a cheeky smile and he followed Shepard.

Suddenly, Shepard's voice could be heard loudly, shouting from somewhere in the kitchen "Hey! Tali, I found the secret weapon, but I need help reading this."

Tali hesitantly got up and walked over. She wasn't used to being out of her suit, which meant naked. Even her ancestors had robes when they were on the home planet.

Eventually she found Shepard and Garrus looking as a mysterious glass box fixed on the wall. There was a wooden stick in it, looking a lot like a baseball bat.

"Oh good, you're here. I would hardly call this a weapon… but it's better than nothing. Your father said he included it in the blueprint, you know, just in case something goes wrong."

Tali read the text on just above the box, after she read the whole thing, she burst out laughing "Shepard! You can't believe what my father put above the box!"

"No, I don't even know" Shepard scratched his head, puzzled by her sudden outburst of laughter.

"It said, 'In case of spouse break glass' That's a literal translation. But it's more of 'In case your spouse is crazy, break the glass'."

Garrus and Shepard too burst out laughing, but Shepard was more serious as he thought about it. "So you're supposed to whack me with this?"

"No, only if you go mad"

"Oh…oh" Then another loud serious of banging threw them back to reality.

Shepard broke the glass and pulled the makeshift weapon out. He positioned it at his waist, prepared to strike as he stood in front of the door. Garrus and Tali took the flanks of the door. Suddenly, the door splintered as a blue wave of energy threw it backwards, knocking Shepard over. He tossed the stick over to Tali, who might have a better shot at hitting it than him.

Tali raised it above her head, ready to strike as long as someone walked through. She saw a glowing figure walk in, covered head to toe in snow. Tali brought the stick down, but held it back halfway.

She took a step back as she looked at the figure, "Samara?"

"Yes, it is I. I am sorry for damaging your door." She walked over to Shepard and helped him up. She turned around to see Tali naked. "Tali, you are…"

Tali looked down at herself before blushing "I'm sorry, I was cold and I had to huddle up with Shepard and then you barged in and then"

Samara cut her off, knowing that it was a nervous blab "I sense the truth in what you say but I did not complain. I wanted to say that you were beautiful."

"Oh… thank you"

Shepard now realized that it wasn't as cold as before. He stuck his head out and was surprised that he was able to see quite far through the once foggy air.

"Good news, it isn't freezing now!"

Tali gave him a sad look and Shepard quite knew what she meant.

"Yes, you can still sleep next to me."


	23. It's A TRAP!

Normandy SR2

After another 6 hours since the 'break-in', the team was successfully rescued and were now back in the safety of the Normandy. They were on a course that would take them to the Citadel.

The quarians had contacted Shepard not too long ago saying that the planet was safe for their return and Shepard said it was all bullshit because he was caught in a blizzard.

Anyways…

"This is Joker, we are reaching the mass relay in 2 hours."

"Do you have to do that? I'm right behind you"

"But, it's so cool doing that. It's like, you were having a great night, and then in the morning I wake you up by saying useless stuff like 'we are eta 1 hour to somewhere'. You know what I mean."

"Very comforting, yes. Indeed. So, anything happened during my home stay?"

"Not much. Let's see… Rosa's quite nice, brought me food when I couldn't walk down there to get it. She also mentioned meeting the crew or something. Miranda still hasn't contacted us yet. Jack was coming out to the CIC and crew deck more often since Miranda's gone and that's about it."

"Where did Miranda go?"

"You mean Kelly hasn't told you yet?"

"Nope"

"Man, I wonder why we even employ her. Anyway, Miranda said she was heading some Cerberus project named Exodus or something like that."

"Oh, alright."

"So, was it fun planet side?"

"I suppose, if you call getting your ass frozen off throughout the night and someone didn't give enough fuel fun then I guess you would have loved it down there."

"Hey, I said I was sorry!"

"Don't worry about it. I'm still alive. I'll be up in my cabin"

Once he was out of earshot, "Yeah, doing what I think he'll be doing"

"I heard that Joker!"

Captain's cabin

Shepard was greeted by Tali who was furiously typing away at his terminal. He leaned against the doorway, admiring her as he wondered how long it took for her to realize that he was standing there.

Not too long apparently. Not turning from the terminal, Tali said "Shepard, I know you are staring at my butt again."

"No I wasn't," Shepard sat down on his chair while she continued to stand and type away "I was looking at your hips"

"What's with everyone and hip? I mean, Turians think that broad hips are attractive, humans think they look nice."

"On the more important subject, what are you doing? Hacking into a captain's personal terminal?"

"I'm trying to see if you got the invitation too. Jeez you have a lot of folders"

"Hey! Some of them are secret."

"Yea, I stumbled across the videos that you confiscated from Joker, and with it were a lot of photos of me."

"You watched those videos?"

"Nah, I decided not to, this story is rated T for your information. If we really wanted to have sex in front of the readers, it would be M"

"Good point. Now, back to the topic, what invitation?"

"Ashley invited us to visit her family back on earth."

"Oh, only you got the invitation?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out"

"Okay, you go do that. I have a lot of unread mail to sift through by the way."

"Yes I realized that."

"I'll be over there, sleeping. I'm tired out. Whole night freezing and not much sleep. Join me if you're tired"

"One more, and a bit here, bypass that, through that firewall and done, all mail deleted."

"Oh okay, I suppose then, WHAT!" Shepard sat up suddenly "YOU DELETED ALL MY MAIL!"

"Nah, I was just kidding. You didn't receive the invitation." She flopped down on the bed face first, resulting in her face hitting her visor.

"Whew, that's a relief." Shepard fell back into bed, back first, closing his eyes. He felt Tali's gloved hands hug his neck as she curled herself up next to him.

Two hours later

"Joker to captain's cabin, captain is requested on the bridge"

"Joker, I swear you're doing for fun."

"No, I'm serious. We went through the mass relay and ended up at an unmapped location, edge of the galaxy."

Shepard could tell the seriousness in his voice "I'll be right there" Shepard flung himself off the bed and walked to the elevator, followed closely by Tali.

Normandy SR2 CIC

"Joker, status report" Shepard ran up to the cockpit

"We're fine. We just got bumped all the way here instead of the Citadel."

A giant reaper immediately materialized in front of their ship. It was big, for a reaper.

"Holy crap!" Joker tapped in commands "Unresponsive. We're held in a tractor beam."

"So that reaper must have reprogrammed the mass relays to make us come here"

"But how?"

"They **were** the ones who built the mass relays"

"It's a trap!"

"Yeah thanks captain obvious" Shepard stepped out of the cockpit and turned to face the various members of the crew. "Anyone know why we are stuck?"

One of the crew members turned up from his console "We're being held by a tractor beam"

"Well, we aren't going anywhere, and I don't think he is either."

_Commander Shepard, so we finally meet_

"What? Who said that"

"Who said what? You okay?" Tali looked at Shepard

_I am overlord, your enemy, your destiny. You have become prey to our race. We will consume your body, it will become the mould for those to come!_

"It's that thing! It's talking to me telepathically or something like that."

"Yeah and how?"

_Do not be surprised human. You know we are able to control synthetic part, they are easily overridden. You will fall to your knees. We will ruin your life. And we will start with the ones you love most._

Shepard drew his knife from his belt and held it in a stabbing grip, ready to kill anyone who came too close.

"HEY! What the shit!" Shepard exclaimed "That thing, overlord, it's making me do crap."

"Still haven't told me how?"

"Joker! It's controlling the synthetic parts of me. The reconstruction, remember?"

"Oh,"

"Someone pin me down now!" Shepard fought against himself as his arm reached out, almost stabbing Tali.

"Shepard, what are you doing?" Tali screamed, a hint of fear and anxiety in her voice.

"I'm not, he's making me, he's controlling me!" Shepard's hand jerked back and forth "For the love of god someone take me down now!"

Four crew members got up from their post and pinned Shepard to the wall, two holding each arm. Tali walked up to the miserable Shepard who was now pinned to the wall by his own crew.

"I'm sorry, but if what you said is true, then this would help" She threw a punch landing squarely on his jaw, knocking him out. The knife immediately dropped from his hand as his grip loosened. The crew members slowly let Shepard drop to the floor.

"FOOLS! YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE"

"I have detected a virus in our systems" EDI mentioned

"HE WAS THE PRIME SPECIMEN! NEVERTHELESS, YOUR PATHETIC RACES WILL SUFFER UNDER OUR HAND"

"EDI, is there any way to take that thing down?"

"This reaper is incredibly strong. Even if we could, all four of our reaper-busters would not kill it. It needs to be taken down from the inside."

"Inside you say?" Shepard had regained consciousness, rubbing his jaw as he used the pilot's chair for support.

"The only way is by destroying the drive core."

"But that's a one way trip!"

"But it is necessary." EDI stressed on the word necessary "If we do not do anything, calculations show that we will all die"

"Then who? Who would go? I can't risk dying again, or falling to the hands of that piece of shit"

"Commander, incoming transmission"

"Open it up"

Immediately, Garrus' face materialized in front of them "HI!"

"Garrus, not the time for jokes."

Garrus' expression turned serious "Fine"

"Why did you send a transmission, I mean you could just come up and talk to me right?"

"Look out the window"

There was a shuttle, the Kodiak, to be precise, flying towards the reaper.

"Garrus, don't tell me you're on the shuttle"

"Yes, I am"

"So you signed up for the suicide mission all by yourself? Without my approval?"

"Shepard, I wanted to do something right. All my life things have gone wrong. C-Sec, then Sidonis, then what? I'm finally doing something right. You should be happy"

"Garrus, I'll lose one of my best friends!"

"I'm sorry it has to be done. Tell Jacob I'm sorry for stealing the nuke launcher. And contact this person and tell her that I say hi"

"I thought you were going to ask me to tell this person that you love her"

"Nah, too cheesy. But you can say that if you want. Cause I'll most likely be dead anyway."

"Garrus don't be so morbid, we'll find you, pick you up, extraction, whatever." Shepard could feel tears welling up in his eyes.

"Don't worry Shepard. I'll be in a better place. If my body ain't vaporized, give it a good burial." Garrus gave one last smile before he cut the connection. The shuttle had already landed on the side of the reaper.

Shepard stormed off back to his quarters. He wasn't going to cry in front of the crew, or had he already? Garrus was his best friend. They were together ever since the Saren incident. Shepard was going to miss the snide remarks, sarcastic comments which all came from Garrus.

After he let his tears dry, he washed his face and decided he would contact that mysterious person. He keyed the contact information into his omnitool. Soon, a female Turian appeared from his omnitool.

"C-Sec head quarters, how may I help you?"

"Are you Nala Kerasee?"

"Yes, why did you ask?"

"Were you with Garrus Vakarian on board a Turian military ship where you sparred with him and ended up sleeping with him afterwards"

Shepard could hear a couple of chuckled in the background, possible colleagues teasing her.

"Excuse me, who are you to dig into my background?"

"I'm sorry, where are my manners" Shepard rolled his eyes "I'm commander Shepard. And you haven't answered my question"

"Oh commander Shepard, I'm so sorry" She leaned in closer to the communications device "Yes, why?"

"Garrus says hi"

"You contacted me so that you could pass a message that Garrus says hi?"

"Well, that's what he asked me to say. You want the whole story?"

"What do you mean the whole story? What's going on here?"

"My ship was held by a reaper tractor beam. Garrus just went off on a suicide mission to blow it up, from the inside. Essentially, he's not coming back. He wanted to say that he loves you but he thought it would be too cheesy."

Nala just stared at Shepard. Shepard could see the expression of sadness and sorrow in her eyes, through the tears that had formed.

"I'm assuming that you will be able to attend the funeral tomorrow?"

"Yes," She wiped her tears with the back of her hand "I'll be there. Just tell me where"

"Joker to captain's cabin, of I love doing that. The reaper just went kaboom! We're free. Plotting course for Citadel now."

Shepard was happy that Garrus had completed his mission, and that they were all free. Overlord was destroyed and he wouldn't have to worry about being controlled and stabbing people again. This particularly strong reaper would be rid from this world.

But in his heart, he knew that he had lost a friend, a good one. He would never come back, it was the truth. But for some crazy reason, he could have survived. He could just be floating around it space, just unconscious. They could find him, revive him. Maybe… just maybe.

He himself had died two years ago, it was the truth. But he had come back via the Lazarus project, as odd as it sounded. As he heard Rosa mention quite a few times,

**Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted**


	24. Remembrance

_The turian deftly jumped to avoid a low sweep kick from the human. He gracefully landed on his feet and let out a left hook which was easily block and countered by the human with a punch to the stomach. But the turian's reach was far, and he was able to avoid the punch without stepping backwards._

_Realising that his blow did not connect, the human took a defensive step backwards, hands in front of his chest in a battle stance. The two locked eyes, trying to stare down one another. Suddenly, a shadowy figure flipped over the Turian, and using him as a pivot point, lunged a kick at the human._

_The human fell back with the figure landing on top of him. The human managed to catch a glint of light reflect of her visor before a punch nearly blinded him. She let out another punch, but her hand was easily grabbed and the human was ready to counter._

_However, she suddenly leapt off him, her hand still unable to move. What she did manage to accomplish with that sudden strafe was in face the dodging to a blow from the Turian. The blow ended up hitting the human square in the stomach, making him release the grip on the hand of the 'shadowy figure'. She lunged as the Turian who was still recovering from his last blow dealt to the human._

_Her right hook was blocked but not countered so she decided to give a roundhouse kick to the face. However, her foot was stopped in mid air as two strong hands clamped down on it. She tried hopping around, trying to find a way where she could break free or at least land a blow. But her leg was held on to quite well and the turian's large reach made the latter impossible._

_The human, who had just recovered from a punch to the stomach, lunged at the duo, arms spread wide in an attempt to take them both down. The effect? They all landed on the floor, laughing away._

_The Turian then started to speak_

"_That gives a new meaning to the phrase 'testing reach and flexibility' ain't it Tali?"_

Citadel, Presidium

It was with a heavy heart that Commander Alex Shepard stepped up to the podium. He remembered the fun times he had with Garrus and Tali, the best friends in the world. And now today, they came, C-Sec, Nala, Garrus' dad, Normandy Crew (Joker as well, can you believe it), the council even, to commemorate the death of a comrade, a hero, and most of all, a friend.

He cleared his throat loudly before he started his impromptu speech.

"My friends, comrades, crew. I come here today before you to commemorate the death of one of my greatest friends, Garrus Vakarian."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nala crying. "Today, people from far and wide have come, the people he knew, the people he loved. Garrus was a brave man. He was one who would stand up against oppression, offer to help even if someone didn't ask, fight if there was a war. He was an honest man, one that I admire greatly, one that I would consider a hero."

"But he made a sacrifice, so that the Normandy could escape. Even without my asking he left to destroy the reaper from the inside out. Because of this, we do not have his body today."

"However, we are still searching. He will not be forgotten as the council forgot me after my death as if I was yesterday's news"

"OBJECTION!" The Turian councilor yelled

"Go fuck yourself, I'm making a speech"

_Presidium, three months back_

"_You. Can. Take. That. Spectre. Status."_

"_And shove it up our assess, how could we forget" The asari councilor still remembered Shepard's previous out roar before he died._

_After the painful meeting, Shepard met Garrus who overheard the conversation. "Never expected my race to be so," Garrus fumbled over trying to find a suitable word "so, bitchy"_

"_Nah, it was just him, such a pain in the ass. I'm back, I got revived, I'm happier as ever and he's going on and on about the information being fake. I hope they do something better about this. The reapers aren't a joke"_

"_Well they sure ain't. I hope that they're easier to kill than the reports say. I'm sure the eggheads in the labs will be able to find something."_

"_Yeah, I sure hope so."_

"_Anyway, I never really got the chance of standing by me."_

"_It is __**you**__ who stood by me in fact. You and Tali. Liara? Shadow broker clouded her mind. Ashley? She kinda went outright mad about Cerberus. Cerberus this, Cerberus that, it's a __**Cerberus**__ uniform."_

"_Maybe. I hope we will never have to part again. You were such a good friend. Loosing you a good two years ago was just, a big blow to everyone. Ashley was sad, I was heartbroken, Liara expressed her feelings of sorrow, but Tali took it hard. She was crying buckets full every day."_

"_Well I'm back now right? As you said, may we never part again"_

The Turian councilor fell silent as he sensed the seriousness in Shepard's voice. Shepard was right. The council outright abandoned him when he needed it the most. They were quick to confirm him KIA, first to announce that he was dead and almost immediately called off all searches. Even a geth could make of a better friend, they were at least loyal.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, he will not be forgotten. I have called on my friends to help. As we stand here, the Migrant Fleet has offered to sent one or two scout ships to search for his body. The geth have gone to that area to salvage technology and at the same time search for his body. Even Cerberus, has offered to find his body so that he may be given a proper burial. I hope the Council will contribute to this effort as well." Shepard glared at the council, the Turian in particular.

"With the shedding of his blood, may it not be in vain. For the one that had him killed, may he be slain. To us my friends a comrade we have lost, but we must learn to let go. He was a brave man, so honest and so bold. We will remember him thru' snow, rain and shine. Remember this my fellow friends, that he was like a brother of mine."

Shepard ended the funeral with a short poem he learnt from the times when he was in the army. The crowd lingered on for a while longer, each of them paying respects to Garrus. There was a short funeral drill performance by C-Sec, in which they fired off shots in domino order, one after another, to pay respects to the recent loss.

As Shepard was walking back to the Normandy, he was intercepted by Nala's voice calling out to him. She finally caught up with him and said something most unexpected.

"I'm joining your crew" She said in a very strong tone, full of determination and 'I mean business'.

"What? Why?"

"The poem you said just now. I want to avenge Garrus. Not just that, I want to make sure nobody else has that kind of fate. I don't want others falling prey to the reapers. Just take me as his replacement. I'm could take his place."

"Are you sure about this? Not everything's about revenge you know. And don't you work at C-Sec?"

"I'm very sure. As for C-Sec… let's just say they got my resignation letter a moment ago."

"Uh huh… what did you work as in C-Sec, maybe I could find a suitable job." He turned his head to realize that Tali was still waiting for him, taking the time to sob quietly about the recent loss of a good friend.

"I helped them calibrate weapons on ships, cruisers, whatever that stopped by the port and needed help. So I could easily take Garrus' post." She paused a while to think before she said another unexpected thing "And I need my own room."

"That I need to know why."

"Ugh, fine, no more hiding secrets" She turned around and shouted "MIRA!" a young girl about 3 years of age came out from the crowd saying 'mummy!'

"Oh god, that can't be good." Shepard exclaimed loudly

"Daddy?"

Nala knelt down to her level. "No, that's not daddy. Daddy just died."

Shepard gave out a loud 'oh…', loud enough for her to hear.

Nala stood back up "Yea, it's not secret now. So… own room?"

"I don't think we have any free rooms…"

"I could give her mine" Tali spoke up for the first time. She really supported the idea of making sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else.

"They where would you sleep?"

Shepard indicated her to follow him back to the Normandy "Oh you'll find out eventually" He threw Tali a knowing grin as he keyed in the passcode to access the Normandy airlock.

Captain's Quarters

"So… looks like I'll be sleeping here from now on"

Shepard walked into his cabin and the lights automatically flicked on. The blue glow of the fish tank still contributed to the illumination and it had a comforting glow at night. He looked closely to see several fish floating on the water surface.

_Dammit_

"It's not like you didn't before anyways"

"Shepard, I need to talk to you"

Shepard sat down on the couch and patted the empty space next to him "Sure, anytime"

Tali took the hint and sat down next to him, her glowing eyes meeting his. "Shepard, I've always wanted to give you this but I never found the time to." She pulled out a small pendant. It was neatly crafted with a metal chain connected to a small heart with both their names engraved on it.

"I wanted to give it to you the night of our first encounter, but I forgot."

"You mean before the omega-4 relay?"

"No, I mean the night that you forgot."

"But I remember that one perfectly"

"You do?"

"Of course I do! I wasn't really drunk, just felt the hangover the next day. You were so sneaky, once I had my back turned to put something away, you jumped on me and, let's not mention the rest shall we?"

"Anyway… I wanted something that you could remember me by."

Shepard admired the pendant. It was obvious that Tali had crafted it herself. He looked over to his ring and saw how close the patterns and decorations were.

"You know I won't forget you even if you left, which I hope you won't"

"I got a call from the admiralty board. They want me to return for two weeks to conduct a crash course on engineering for the new recruits just back from pilgrimage. They're trying to get as many people as they can for the upcoming war."

"A week eh? I don't think I could live that long without you" Shepard grinned slyly

"Well you'll have to. I'm leaving later today, a shuttle's coming to pick me up. Hope you have fun and don't forget me."

"Remember this always, I will never ever leave you. Even if I die, I will still be with you."

"That was quite creepy but okay" the usual joy in her voice had returned. Her thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of the commander's intercom.

Shepard managed to pull himself up from the couch and walked over to pick up the intercom.

"Hey, commander."

"Jack?"

"Yea, I got this kid running around down here saying that I got a nice hideout. Ain't yours right?"

"No it isn't. It's Turian right?"

"Yea it is. Hell I always though human + quarian = turian. But anyways, it belongs to the newcomer right?"

Shepard sighed loudly, she may become a bit of a hindrance, but it was always nice to have people who cared about fighting the enemy and not just fighting because they were forced to.

He looked back at the intercom, hoping that by staring at it, the crew would put up with the child's nonsense (if any). Then he remembered he had a question to answer. But what would he answer?

"No shit"


	25. Back In Action

Normandy SR2, three days after Tali's leave

"What do you mean it was a distraction?" Shepard snarled angrily at the Illusive Man. Despite helping each other out, they still were enemies, not happy with the way the other person handled things.

"The information they stole wasn't in the space station. It was a decoy, to lure you away from the real copy in hopes that we all would forget about it."

"Yea yea, and now you want me to go information hunting all over again"

"I wouldn't use such a crude term. I prefer to call it a snatch and grab if you may, just that we can't have any witnesses. More importantly, I believe you should know what that information is about." He took another puff of smoke before he continued his explanation.

"Two years ago, when we started the Lazarus project, we ventured into the area of being able to revive someone, anyone, without DNA specifications. However, it proved to be difficult. The Lazarus project was built to revive you, and you only."

The Illusive Man took a datapad out from behind him and showed it to Shepard "The fruitful part of our long, hard research was that as long as someone shared a certain section of the DNA that you have, the Lazarus technology could be reused."

"So you're saying that if this random guy so happen has a similar DNA code as mine, you could bring him back?"

"Yes, it is being applied in operation EXODUS now. But back to the point, what has been stolen is your DNA code. It is possible that the separatists are trying to implant that DNA into their own men, essentially making a clone of you."

"Wait, so you're saying that Cerberus was trying to clone me?"

"Yes, but later I decided against it. However, some still insisted that having more of a good thing is good, and thus the splinter group was born."

"And what would they do with copies of me? Take over the universe?"

"That I do not know. Although there have been claims that with an army of you, no one could oppose, not even the reapers. It could be to our advantage, but being power hungry, I fear they have their own personal agenda behind it."

"Alright. I'll do you this one favour. I don't really like the idea of meeting myself on the streets anyways."

"One more thing, you should take out the cloning facility as well. According to reports, it's on the planet itself. How you are going to destroy the facility is entire up to you." The Illusive Man gave a knowing smile before he severed the connection.

Shepard walked towards the elevator as he patched in the co-ordinates to Joker.

"Copy that commander, arriving in 12 hours. Better get some sleep."

The Normandy detached from the Citadel's docking system as it accelerated into the great unknown.

Over at the Normandy armoury, Shepard was looking through the different choices of weapons. Throughout their entire journey, there had been several new additions. Shepard's personal favourite was the Tempest SMG, able to put an entire clip into some ones face within seconds.

"They're all in tip top shape commander" Jacob turned away from his work terminal.

"So I see. Is the new shotgun for Grunt completed yet? I remember hearing about it yesterday."

"Quite, still in the testing stage though. But I think it'll be done soon. Grunt can't wait to 'test' the new weapon some more. It sure packs a punch, enough recoil to dislocate your shoulder if you ain't careful."

"And that's why only Grunt uses it."

"Point taken."

"I've got some other things to check on. See you around"

"Sure thing commander"

Shepard continued his adventure of touring around the ship, talking to people, seeing how they were doing, helping out if anyone else had problems with their family, seriously. Jacob had problems with his father, Miranda had problems with her father and sister. Thane had problems with his son, Samara her daughter. Jeez. But all in a day's work for Shepard.

Shepard walked down to the front batteries. The doors opened to reveal a turian working at the controls.

"Hey, Garrus, I need you to…" Shepard frowned as he looked at the slightly short female turian "Oh, I'm sorry." Shepard looked down and sighed hard, "I forgot that."

Nala turned around and put a hand on Shepard's shoulder. "It's okay. It's good to see that you haven't forgotten him. I know I won't forget him for a long time."

"Yea… it's going to be hard without him. Anyway, I need the weapons prepped in a few hours time. I don't know what resistance we're facing but knowing the value of the info we're retrieving, there's going to be at least a few ships."

"No problems. I hope my daughter isn't causing anymore problems."

"Not that I know of. Where is she anyway?"

"I told her to stay in the room most of the time but I said that if she's bored, she can go talk to the pilot."

"Knowing Joker, I don't really think it's a good idea."

"I thought it was. Maybe one day she'll grow up to the pilot of her own ship, who know?"

"Or maybe a foul mouthed person…" Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"Mommy! Mommy! I found you" Mira ran into the room hugging Nala's legs.

"Mommy, I asked the big man flying the ship what the collectors are!"

"And what did he say?"

"I don't understand it. He said that the collectors are coark sucking bastards. What's that?"

Nala winced at what her daughter just said as Shepard let out a short laugh at the young girl's pronunciation.

"Just proved my point." And Shepard walked out just in time before Nala started scolding Mira.

Migrant Fleet

Tali sat at her desk, thinking about what she should include in the next day's lesson. Right now the trainees were equipped with basic engineering skills, but for a war, a war needed more than that. Her train of thoughts was broken by a quick series of knocks on the door.

"Come in" Tali tapped on her omnitool and the door unlocked with a click.

"Hi Tali," Kal'Reegar walked in with a assault rifle in hand. Sitting on the sofa inside her quarters, he leaned the gun against the nearby wall.

"Kal, are you okay?"

"I'm alright, just a little tired. Why did you ask?"

"You called me by my name,"

"Is that a problem? It's your name isn't it?"

"No, it just that you always call me ma'am and you won't change no matter what"

"Alright, you got me there. There's something that I wanted to tell you. Remember during the two years when Shepard was, umm, unconscious so as to speak." Tali nodded her head twice "Remember how I would always ask if you were alright, if you were hurt every time after a mission?"

"Yes, you were being a friend."

"Actually, I wanted us to be more than friends."

"I don't like where this is going" Tali shifted uncomfortable in her seat.

"Every day when neither of us were on a mission, I would come by and say hi, ask how you were coping with Shepard's death and all that. I really cared for you. To put it bluntly, I loved you"

"Kal, why now? Why tell me all this now? Is it because I'm away from the Normandy, alone?"

"I just heard about your marriage with Shepard"

Tali was getting really uncomfortable now. Here she was, alone, defenseless. Where was Shepard when you need him?

"So now you're jealous that I'm with him and not you?" Tali was more puzzled that offended. She really didn't know what he meant. He wasn't really straight to the point when it came down to these kind of things.

"No! No, don't get me wrong! I'm happy that you found someone better. I just wanted to tell you that I still care and I still love you. Not in the way that you think, but I got it clear now, I love you as a friend"

"So… you're not jealous?"

"Why would I be? If I really cared for you, I would respect your choices. To be honest, I too have moved on. That is behind me."

"Whew, for a moment I thought you were going to do something stupid."

"Like?" Kal picked up his gun and hoisted it up with one hand

"I don't know…"

"Well I'm happy he didn't do something stupid. Would have to kill him if he did" Rosa stepped out of the shadows and into the light

"Who are you?" Kal had his gun raised and his tone returned to his usual seriousness.

Taking a slight bow, Rosa explained "Rose Maria Auditore," Cut off halfway by Tali

"Another assassin that Shepard recruited."

"Considering that Tali couldn't understand your feelings for the past two years… I think you better work on your pick up lines." Rosa gave a short chuckle.

"Do I, really?"

"I was just kidding. I heard a lot about you though. Nah, it was more of a hack in to the databases and find out that you're a nice guy kind of thing. Well, I suppose I'll see you again. And I will" Rosa walked towards to door, giving Kal a wink before going out the door and blending into a group of quarians.

"She likes you"

"And you know that how?"

"It's obvious isn't it?" Tali crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave a very knowing laugh

"Not really"

"You really have to put some work into that area"

"Hey, I'm a marine, not a romance kind of guy. Anyways, see you next time" Walking out the door, Kal let the gun rest on his shoulder as he held it by the trigger handle.

Normandy SR2, 12 Hours Later

"Alright, let's recap. Kasumi, me and Thane will be team Alpha. You're coming with me to infiltrate that big cruiser over there. Jack, Grunt and Legion, you will be team Bravo, you'll take the shuttle to blow up the base on my command. Charlie consists of Mordin, doctor Chakwas and Samara. They will go with Bravo but remain in the shuttle until backup is required."

"If the people who are going planet side are taking the shuttle, how are we going to get to the cruiser?"

"Just follow my lead."

Team Alpha slowly drifted towards the rogue Cerberus cruiser, powered only by their jet packs. They brought enough oxygen to last two hours, in case things went wrong. Like this, they produced no alarming amount of heat and should remain undetected.

Preparing to hack the airlock, Kasumi made sure that nobody would see what was happening. After she was confident that there was no one in the near vicinity, she hit the button and the airlock opened. The team made their way inside before closing the airlock once again.

"Okay, where are we?"

Kasumi tapped on her omnitool to project a 3D image of the cruiser. "You see, we're here, in the engineering sector. We need to get up there, to the AI core. If there is really any data at all, it's going to be there."

"We should move up to here where a service ladder is. Then we can go up a level to the crew deck, make our way across to the main batteries, which is where another ladder which will take us up into the AI core."

"Thane, that's a good plan. Now all we have to do is get there."

The trip towards the service ladder was quite uneasy. Once they had gotten out of the airlock, they were immediately greeted by two curious engineers. They were quickly knocked out (not killed) and their bodies put in a storage room. As they walked out of the storage room, two guards had caught sight of them and they quickly had their throats slit.

"This is hard, very hard." Kasumi wiped drops of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. The trio had stopped in a weapon storage room for a break, with the bodies of four guards chucked in a corner behind them, permanently resting. They were quite close to the service ladder already, it being two rooms down. But they needed to rest, to recharge for the upcoming challenges ahead.

Planetside

Grunt shuffled his feet on the grass. He was impatient, waiting for Shepard to give the order to attack. He was hungry for action, violence, brutal killings of those who opposed Shepard and his friends.

Nearby, the shuttle had silently landed. Being cloaked during the entire journey, they were completely unseen by the anti-air batteries. Doctor Chakwas was busy calibrating the medical equipment just in case the need for it arose. Samara was meditating on the field beside Grunt, hoping that a blizzard would not interrupt her this time.

Legion was carried away with processing data that came from the geth on Rannoch. They were able to detect some heretic geth on the planet and was working with the quarians to eradicate them. He took a look at Grunt, trying to deduce why he hungered for fights and violence. But that just proved Legion's motto correct, organics are such unusual creatures.

Rogue Cerberus cruiser

Our heroes are back in the business. There was no opposition as they walked towards the servicing area where they climbed up dozens of metal rungs to reach the floor above. There was again, no resistance in that room.

The only room they could go to next was the crew quarters.

"Are you sure about this?" Thane asked, knowing the consequences if anyone discovered them and raised the alarm.

"I'm sure. I'll open the door, throw a flash bang and then when they're dazed, we dash through as if nothing happened."

"And then after that?"

"Just as we leave, I pop the sleeping gas."

Shepard propped himself up against the wall on the left side of the door. He then spun around and kicked it open as he prepped the flash bang

"Help! Don't hurt us!"

Shepard stopped at the word help as he looked down to see a young human woman, clothes torn and tattered, bound by the legs and hands as she cowered in fear. A quick look around the room showed many others, men and women alike, all bound up and put in this dark room. There could be only one explanation, and it didn't come with its disadvantage.

Prisoners.


	26. A Moral Decision

Rogue Cerberus Cruiser

"Oh crap" Shepard stared in disbelief as many men and women looked towards him. By the hand and leg bindings, one could tell that they were no doubt prisoners. A most likely guess would be the colonists on the planet who opposed the presence of Cerberus here.

"Shepard, you have to carry on. Freeing them would risk an alarm and it could jeopardize the entire mission. Everything we came for could just go in an instant. If you free them and the guards all come rushing, we're all dead. If we leave them alone, only they would be dead."

"No, you have to save them" Thane's voice came across cool and collected, yet with the same sense of justice and dignity that was never lost. "They don't deserve to be like this. They are just, people, done nothing wrong to have this fate. They are depending on you Shepard, they need you. But it's your choice. To let these innocent lives go to waste? I hope not."

Those words hit Shepard like a punch to the face. He never thought of it that way. Usually when they encountered prisoners, innocents, he usually thought of them as a complication and willingly sacrificed their lives for the sake of the mission. To him, they were, expandable. Maybe it was time for change, people always said that it was never too late to change.

Inside him, an internal war raged on. The only way that the prisoners could get off the ship was via a shuttle, and surely the Cerberus officers would notice a missing shuttle flying away from them. It would also risk the deletion of the files that they came for.

But if they were left alone, they would die, if not of starvation, then of the plan that Shepard had in mind. The only way they could effectively take both the cruiser and the base out at the same time.

After minutes of staring at the whitewashed wall, he came to a decision.

"No, they're getting out of here. No more innocent lives are going to die by my hand. No more."

"Kasumi, contact Bravo and Charlie. Tell them to take the shuttle, Bravo and Charlie back to the Normandy. After that, tell Charlie to take the Kodiak to this ship when I give the command"

Kasumi rolled her eyes at Shepard's decision but did not question it. People who questioned it usually ended up dead, or the unlucky fate of being thrown out an airlock. She tapped the

"Thane, help me free the prisoners."

After a lot of rope cutting, knot untying and helping the starved prisoners to their feet, the three escorted the group of 30 prisoners to the airlock in which they came from.

"Kasumi, call in the shuttle when I give you the signal"

"Shepard, we can't fit 30 people into the Kodiak. The max it can take is 25. Not to mention that Chakwas, Mordin would be on it."

"Hm… that's a good point." Shepard turned to the group of prisoners "Any brave ones who feel like giving them payback?"

Slowly, three hands rose, followed by another two, and lastly two more.

"That's good to see that you still have guts. The 7 who raised their hands come over here. I have some food, you're going to need it"

As the 7 prisoners shared the few protein bars that Shepard had, he was busy formulating a plan. And as long as Shepard had the Shepard gene, they would get out alive, usually in a very crazy way.

Now strengthened by the little food that they were given, they followed Shepard's lead up to the little armoury which was their previous body hiding spot. The 7 militia armed themselves with pistols, some of the stronger ones taking assault rifles and shotguns. Now they had a motley of forces, one Shepard, one assassin, two assault rifle wielding guys, two shotgunners and three holding twin pistols.

The route to the AI core was quite easy. The militia had stayed back while Shepard and Thane quietly cleared the way. Once they were in the AI core, Shepard gave them a quick briefing.

"I'm sure you all are wondering who I am. I'm Commander Shepard and I've come for some data. Once I start the download, they're sure to notice. So I want all of you to bunker down at the entrance and hold them off until it finishes. Alright?"

"You're Commander Shepard?"

"Sure I am."

"Whoah, one we're out of this, can I get your autograph?"

"Umm… yea I suppose. Now get into cover."

The randomly armed militia move some crates over to the doorway to act as cover as others stood by the sides of the door. Once they were in position, Shepard started the download. Almost immediately, an alarm sounded.

_Warning, Unauthorized virtual entry from the AI core. Warning, Virus detected. Virus detected. Virus detected._

The wailing sounds were stopped by Shepard firing a pistol round into the speaker. The 7 prisoners looked at him in shock.

"What? It was irritating"

Not long since the alarm sounded, a group of five guards walked straight into the AI core, not knowing of the trap that had been set. They were quickly gunned down by a cross fire of assault rifles, a hail of pistol pullets and one even took a shotgun blast to the face.

_Warning, firewall detected._

This time the alarm came from Shepard's omnitool. He hastily tried to hack the firewall. It was a slow and tedious process in which most of the time Shepard was kicked out by the ship's AI.

_Firewall at 75%_

"Shepard!" One of the men called out "Help, I got shot in the leg"

"Thane, medigel" the assassin move quickly to apply some medigel to the man's leg, soothing the pain as the medigel slowly fixed up the lost tissue. There was another loud cracking sound as a lucky shot from the guard shattered the box that one of them was taking cover behind.

Gathering courage form his recent success, the guard took the opportunity to fire his gun into the surprised soldier's midsection. He slumped forward as his eyes rolled back and blood spurted from his stomach. The guard's celebration was short lived as the rest fired their weapons mercilessly into his body.

Shepard heard the commotion and turned away from the console to say a short military prayer for his fallen friend before he continued his hacking process.

_Firewall at 50%_

Shepard was getting anxious, this was the firewall strength that the announcements was talking about, not the downloading process. Shepard sighed as he looked up to the ceiling after his hacking was stopped once again, by the ship's AI.

"Where's Tali when you need her?" Shepard muttered as he tried again. His expression turned from anger to annoyance, sadness then back to anger.

_Firewall removed_

The announcement from Shepard's omnitool was a soothing relief to him. Accordingly, the download only had more minute to completion. Behind him, he heard the entrance fill once again with the roar of gun fire. Two guards screamed as they took surprised shotgun bursts to their backs. The third reacted in time and managed to fire an assault rifle round into his side.

The makeshift soldier growled as he clutched the wound with his left hand. Using his right, he held the shotgun as a club and bludgeoned the surprised guard to death.

Finally content with his handiwork, he called out to the commander "Shepard! I'm bleeding out over here!"

Shepard heard his cry for help as he finalized the download. He backed away from the information terminal as he walked over to the group.

"Shepard, hurry up, Fred's bleeding out"

Shepard checked his medigel supplies and lifted his head up to Fred, expression one of great sorrow.

"I'm sorry, we're out of gel"

"Ugh, I think I can hold out a little longer. Just get me off the ship."

Shepard led the group slowly to the bridge, walking at Fred's pace. His would dripped blood at a constant pace. The side of his shirt was now stained heavily in blood, so much so that it dripped from the shirt to the floor.

"Kasumi, I'm calling in the Kodiak. Defend the prisoners until the Kodiak comes for evac." Shepard switched the comm. channel "Charlie, this is Commander Shepard, move in to Kasumi's location. There are prisoners and I want them evacuated. I repeat, evacuate the prisoners at all costs."

There was a quick reply of confirmation before Shepard's group came to a halt in front of a large door.

"That's the bridge. We need to capture it to complete my plan. I need someone to help guard the door, it's our only escape."

"I'll do it." Fred immediately responded "I'm going to die anyway, more heroic to die fighting than bleeding out…"

"You're a brave man, you know that? Stand here and watch the door. Everyone else, on three."

"One," Shepard braced himself for the battle that was coming up ahead.

"Two," The militia nervously checked that their weapons were reloaded and working as they prepared for what might be the hardest fight of this entire mission

"Three!" Thane calmly rotated his neck just before they would rush in.

Shepard hit the controls on the door and the entire squad burst in, weapons spraying all over. There was a satisfying scream as guards who were caught unaware were filled with countless bullets and shells. Those who were watching the door quickly had their necks snapped and one even had a knife in his gut. Shepard quickly gunned down another two guards as a stray bullet grazed his shoulder.

After the fire died down, Shepard examined the carnage.

"Wow, no casualties."

"Shepard, you're the casualty" one of the recruits pointed at the blood flowing from his shoulder.

"I'll be fine," Shepard calmly walked over to the pilot's controls. After some commands, everyone immediately felt the ship turn. Coming to a stop, the ship was directly facing the enemy base. Shepard review the data he had collected to ensure he had the right stuff. Definitely, there was a classified document on the EXODUS project, an entire virtual copy of his DNA and some other highly classified stuff.

"Alright, let's head out." Shepard input his final command.

_Thrusters to reach maximum speed in five minutes._

All of them, including Thane, shot Shepard worried stares. In reassurance, Shepard replied.

"We'll be long gone"

Outside The bridge

Fred had just finished firing an entire assault rifle clip into a stray guard who happened to check on the bridge. He leant against the wall for support. His head was feeling light and his vision was blurring. But he kept telling himself, he had to keep strong, for Shepard's sake. He peered down at the pool of blood that had gathered at his feet.

_Oooo crap._

His legs were starting to fail him. He wobbled as he braced himself against the wall, breaking his fall. Through blurry vision he could see a green figure pick him up and sling him over his shoulder. His vision was now limited to behind his mysterious rescuer.

"Shepard?" Fred asked as he caught sight of the N7 logo over his blurriness.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." One pistol shot rang out as a guard fell to his knees.

"We're here." Shepard started hacking a nearby terminal. Not long after, a nearby door opened, revealing two benches with straps.

"Thane, lie him down," Fred felt the cool hands of the drell as he was slowly lowered onto the left bench. He turned his head to face the side to see Shepard and the rest take their seats opposite him. There was just enough. Eight seats for the eight of them. He felt himself being strapped to the bench, one of them pressing painfully against his wound, inciting a growl from him. He released that strap, claiming that three would do just fine.

He felt his whole body jerk forward as the escape pod launched. Shepard looked out the window to see the Normandy close in on them.

"Joker here, you're in tractor beam range, taking it in. Just to let you know, the Kodiak's back, only one injured in the leg, in the med bay now."

"Thanks Joker, I have one here heavily wounded. He's bleeding out as we speak, get Chakwas and the medical team ready."

"Got that, Chakwas and team en-route to hangar bay now." Shepard watched as the familiarity of the cargo/hanger bay drew close, showing the small figures of doctor Chakwas and her variety of medical equipment.

Once the reading showed that the pressure had stabilized, Shepard hit the hatch and popped open the door, only to be responded with two men dressed in white dresses quickly unbuckled Fred and moved him onto a stretcher.

Shepard hopped out and immediately headed for the cockpit. Finally arriving there, he told Joker to turn the Normandy around for a better view.

"What? What do you want to look at?"

"That, bring us in closer."

Joker only obeyed as he punched in the controls. As the Normandy reduced the distance, the sight of a Cerberus cruiser on collision course with the base came into view.

"Whoah, I'm guessing you did that?"

"Of course, it's my style."

The two watched in awe as the Cerberus vessel rammed into the roof head on, causing the building to collapse on one side. The vessel crudely grated to a halt inside the base, the front of it sticking out one end. Due to the intense damage to the drive core, the entire ship erupted in a chain reaction of explosion as armouries, life support, etc, exploded as a result of the drive core's overload.

_I wish Garrus was still here to see this. He always loved following me on missions, especially when it involved blowing up big stuff, or freeing prisoners in the name of justice. He was a good guy. Always was, always will. It's hard to believe that he's, gone. _

"That's the last we'll see of them" Joker commented, still unable to tear his eyes away from the awesome carnage that Shepard had just instigated. He turned the chair around, wanting to congratulate his commander, but all he saw was a blank, empty space.

"Commander Shepard wanted to have some alone time to think."

"Yea, I bet I know about what."

"You are able to read his mind Mr Moreau?"

"It's obvious. There's only one other person who would love to watch this kind of carnage on such a big scale."

"He may be gone, but he's in a better place." Kasumi walked up to him and leaned lazily against the wall.

"Yeah, I sure hope so…"


	27. A Call for Change

**Going away on a little holiday.**

**So ya'll don' worry bout' me. I'll be keepin' ya'll posted on this.**

**NAH, I was trying an accent. But yea, gonna have a go down in activity for a while. But do not fret. I have another chapter ready. Just not posted.**

One week later, Migrant Fleet

"Seriously? Shepard has had non-stop blowing stuff up action for seven days straight?" Kal peeped over Tali's shoulder to see the Normandy's report.

"Wow, that must be tough on him…"

"Are you kidding me? I'm dying for some action. I haven't been on a mission for a week."

"Then why don't you just his crew?"

Tali knew that she could joke with Kal as long as there wasn't other people. He just kept himself strict and stern when in public, but when there wasn't anyone around to comment on his lack of professionalism, he was quite friendly.

"That's a good idea"

"Kal, I wasn't being serious…"

"Tali, do you think you could fake a little transfer for me to the Normandy?"

"Of course I can, I'll just get exiled, that's all." Tali rolled her eyes although she knew very well that Kal couldn't see what she was doing. She learnt that from Shepard, amongst many other things. Apparently the rolling of eyes was a human thing, indicating annoyance.

"You think Zaal'Koris would let me?"

"Maybe, let me see where he is now." Tali let her fingers dance over the console as she accessed the information sheet about Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib. About a minute later she turned to Kal, beaming with pride. "I managed to hack into the system to find out that Zaal'Koris had a transfer. It said that he was finally being transferred to the Iktomi."

Kal'Reegar immediately burst out laughing. He distinctively remembered Tali's trial where Shepard talked to all of the admirals in hopes of clearing Tali's charges. He had overheard the conversation between Shepard and Zaal. Kal himself never liked Zaal'Koris anyway, had his head stuck up too high in the air sometimes.

The ship Qwib Qwib was quite a good name. But due to his insistence of a transfer, he was now Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Iktomi. The mere thought of the words being put together could make anyone laugh.

_Tali walked closely to Shepard as they made their way to the ship's plaza where her trial would be held. They stopped momentarily only to talk to Shala'Raan. She felt incredibly nervous as the people gathered around and the court was slowly called to order. The nervousness was soon replaced by anger, anger that came from the accusation of sending live geth back to the Fleet._

_Shepard willingly stood up for her claiming that her intentions were pure and that she would never do such a thing. She giggled softly behind her mask as she watched Shepard shout at the admiral with such dedication. She loved it when Shepard shouted at politicians, be it the council, the Illusive Man, and quite surprisingly even the Admiralty Board._

She distinctively remembered how Shepard had comforted her after she found her father dead, and even worse, the person responsible for the activationof the deactivated geth parts she sent back. Tali snapped back to the real world, thinking about the training of the new recruits, and more importantly, Kal'Reegar's transfer.

"And what makes you think he'll agree to a transfer? And think about it clearly, is it what you really want?"

"Ever since he saved my sorry ass by asking me to stand down I've been dying to serve on his crew. They get to do amazing stuff! He's going around fighting reapers, insurrectionists, merc groups. What have I been doing? Clearing out 'heretic' geth."

"If you put it that way… but my question still stands, will Zaal'Koris really agree to letting you transfer to the Normandy just like that?"

"I'll try to persuade him a little. Maybe if I bitch enough about how you get to join Shepard while on pilgrimage but I don't get to even after pilgrimage, he may just agree."

Tali's mind raced back to the first time she met Shepard. In a dark alley on the Citadel, the smile that he had given her was enough to show that he was there to help her, not to harm. It was true that she wanted to help Shepard defeat Saren and Sovereign. It was also true that she had joined Shepard's crew on board the Normandy in hopes of getting something worth bringing back as a pilgrimage gift.

Of course, she got the Geth data, and something extra… Shepard.

_Just one week plus and you've had multiple flashbacks, what's wrong with you Tali? I hope Shepard isn't feeling this way either, it just seems that even though we are half a galaxy away, we still feel each other._

Tali broke from her flashback and came back to reality. "Well, good luck to you then, I need some rest before giving the recruits their final exam." Tali let out a loud yawn, stretching her arms high above her head. "I hope none of them screw up trying to fix a drive core."

Of course Tali knew the answer very well. She used to fight it, find another answer, but it all came down to the same solution, the same reason. That very reason is this very incomprehensible, intangible, fuzzy feeling of joy and happiness called love.

A week ago, Normandy SR2 (Just after the Cerberus heretic incident.)

Shepard at his desk, resting his feet lazily on the top of it while he leaned back reminiscing about the good times he and Garrus had together. Why did he have to die? Why him of all people? Someone else could have easily fired the nuke, Zaeed, or maybe Legion. All Legion had to do was back up his hardware and he could easily be revived. But Garrus chose to take it on. For what real reason? Maybe the world would never know…

His focus was brought back by the sound of a quick rasping of knuckles on his door. He swung his feet back down to the ground as he called the person to come in. He already knew who it was for he was the one who called her.

Kasumi strode in and stood by where Shepard was sitting.

"Kasumi, I want to know why you would willingly sacrifice the men that were on board the ship."

"Shepard I'm sure you of all people know the answer. If we rescue them and they send a whole army at us, we all die. If we leave them alone, only they have to die."

"But what if you were in that position? Wouldn't you want someone to save you instead of leaving you alone? That brings you down to the same level as the people who actually took them prisoner."

"Alright, fine. But I hope you will place the mission on a higher importance the next time."

"No, civilians, innocents always come first. I used to place the mission as highest priority. But I always felt that pang of guilt every time I remember that they died by my hand, by my incompetence. I'm not going to let any more innocent lives go to waste, no more."

Kasumi merely shrugged her shoulders as she turned to left. Personally, what Shepard said touched her heart. It was true, was there really much to gain over letting them die? Just like that? She would have to reflect on this.

On her way out, she brushed past a dark, green, scaly figure who also had the intention of talking to Shepard. She pulled up her hood and quickly disappeared into the elevator.

"Thane, do you need something?"

"Shepard, I wanted to apologise for just now. I shouldn't have told you what to do, I was being unprofessional and I'm sorry for my actions."

"Thane? There really isn't a need for apology. I needed a waking up, I needed to see that those were innocent lives that I was so prepared to sacrifice. I actually wanted to thank you, for your constant morality for you do not lack this thing called honour."

"Shepard, I'm astounded by your words. I came up here to ask for forgiveness, half expecting a scolding, but here you are complementing me. I do not understand."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. It's just that you made me see the value of all life. We shouldn't sacrifice lives for the sake of getting something done, at least not innocent lives."

"I see. Thank you then. If you do not mind, I will take my leave"

Shepard gave a quick nod before Thane slipped back out the door as quickly as he did come in. Shepard wondered to himself how Tali was doing. Hopefully she didn't have trouble handling the recruits.

Present Day, Normandy SR2

Shepard dragged his feet over to the armoury, making short scraping noises as the soles of his boots rubbed against the metal flooring. Once he reached the armoury he quickly stashed his assault rifle and his sniper in their respective racks.

He took a slow walk back to the elevator and waited impatiently for it's coming. Upon reaching his cabin he quickly unhooked his pistol and chucked onto his desk, only before slumping face first onto his bed.

Shepard was dead beat. He just spent two whole days fighting through hordes of husks because the technology of a reaper's mass effect core was supreme, and the council insisted that they get it. Of course nobody knew that there were tens, nearly hundreds of husks just waiting to get a bite off Shepard.

He let his hands out, trying to find something to hug, but his gloved palms met nothing but the air. Shepard flipped around, staring at the ceiling this time, wishing that Tali were there with him.

A loud sounding beep woke Shepard from his slumber some hours later. He stumbled over to the desk only to trip over the step and fall flat on his armour with a clank. It was only then did he realize that he hadn't even taken off his armour. He unclipped the upper half and hung it up before unbuckling the leggings and placing it aside.

After he was unarmoured and not so clanky, he made his way to his desk and opened the mail that was labeled urgent.

_Dear Shepard,_

_I have recently received a request for a transfer to your ship from one of the men serving in the fleet. I have approved of it and it is now up to you to decide whether you would want him on your ship. Of course I remind you that taking another one of us may increase acceptance of quarians in the average society._

_I hope you will think about it reply as soon as you can so that he may prepare for departure._

_Regards,_

_Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Iktomi_

Shepard almost choked on his own saliva as he laughed long and hard. After reading the name of the person who sent the message, who couldn't laugh, or who wouldn't laugh. After he got a hold on himself, he wiped a few tears from his eyes as he started to compose a reply.

After typing a quick message about how it would be an honour to have another quarian on the ship, and how extra hands were needed, Shepard made sure he just type Zaal'Koris, without the ship name. But after reconsideration, he thought that would be rude, so he decided to type the whole thing, and go into another laughing fit.

Planet Pragia

It had been months since Mordin had interfered. It had been months since he was actually working on something substantial. He had just received a very important piece of data, and with some research, found himself on a knew path.

Maleon took a slow walk through the abandoned facility. It may be abandoned, but the technology was far from primitive. Maleon took his time to remember how Shepard had stopped his crazy friend Mordin from putting a round into his face. He knew he had to return the favour, and he already found out how.

He turned around and walked back out to the landing point, a bit quicker this time. He bypassed walls of algae, dirt and mud, long abandoned by the Cerberus scientists who had set up a research facility here. Of course, he had read about it. Cerberus used this facility to experiment on biotics, trying desperately to find ways to enhance one's biotic abilities.

Maleon shook his head as he read further about their attempts. They tried to use element zero, which he considered a good choice, but however, he laughed at the way they tried to expose them to element zero.

It was not long before he had reached the landing pad. Two of his assistants carefully carried the package out of the shuttle that had just landed. Maleon followed closely as he instructed them to take the package to a very specific room. As they neared the room, he took a quick check of his items that he had placed around the room.

He quickly pulled on a pair of rubber gloves as his assistants removed the contents of the package from its cryo tube to the table. Maleon picked out a sharp knife from his selection and walked towards the 'package'. Maleon felt sorry for the person who had suffered this fate. It was nothing more than a tangled mess of bone, muscle and organ. But nevertheless, it was his job to fix things.

As he was about to start, he muttered something.

"Don't worry, I'll untangle you."


	28. Just Like Old Times

THE VOID

Garrus rubbed the back of his head, fully expecting himself to bruised, blown apart with amputated limbs all around. But he found none. He looked at his arms, they were fine even though he clearly remembered the searing pain as the effect of the nuke from the 'Cain' reached him. He slowly sat up from his previous lying position. He was surrounded by lush green grass and a pale blue sky to couple it.

"I wish Nala were here. Shepard would be good too." Garrus was quite surprised at how fit he was as he threw himself into a standing position.

His feelings for Nala had stuck, for a long time as it seems. People never just had sex and forgot entirely about the person you had it with. Well, it worked that way for Turians at least, humans could go and stuff their talk about 'casual' sex and all that bullshit. He had Nala in mind all the time, from their first spar till, till never. The realization dawned on him that he never really said bye.

Garrus aimlessly walked off into the distance, feeling the cool wind against his bare chest. He didn't really mind, there wasn't anyone around to notice or complain anyway.

_So this is what afterlife really feels like? This is where Shepard spent his two years in hibernation._

At least where his mind was. For all he knew, his body was floating off, more than half of it obliterated by the suicide blast which he volunteered to trigger. He caught sight of a figure in the horizon and walked towards it, hoping he could get answers. But before he could even reach the large figure, it came towards him at lightning speed, throwing him off his feet and sent the both of them crashing down to the floor.

The large person let out a hearty chuckle which Garrus instantly recognised. He couldn't have missed it, no way anyone who knew him would.

"Wrex!"

The both of them got up and dusted themselves.

"Vakarian! Ashley's bitching got the better of you too?"

"Nah, volunteered for a suicide mission."

"Oh yes, I remember now. That one."

"Wait, how could you have know? You were dead!"

"Ah, just follow me." Wrex walked a few steps forward before he stopped abruptly. "Actually you don't have to. Just think of the person you want to see. I figured that out not too long ago. It's useful."

Reacting to Garrus' thought, they were now in Nala's room on-board the Normandy.

"Typical, choose to see your mate first." Wrex shook his head. "I wonder what Shepard's doing."

Garrus just thought about it and he the visualization around them immediately changed to the setting of the captain's cabin. It was interesting. This was his world, he bent it. He never imagined afterlife to be like this. But what about Wrex? If Garrus controlled everything, surely other people wouldn't be too happy.

As if to answer his question, Wrex willed a thought and they were whisked away into the depths of space. They were now in Wrex's world. Here he had full control. So each person was given his each own world. So confusing, so intricate, thought Garrus.

Suddenly, his arm disappeared and was replaced by a mechanical one.

"Hey! Very funny Wrex."

"I didn't do anything!" Wrex lifted his hands in innocence.

No one could break cosmic powers. Even to Wrex who had been here for some time found it awkward.

Garrus stared at his hand in horror as it flickered in and out of existence. Slowly, a hand that was largely made out of metal replaced it. Garrus couldn't feel his arm, and suddenly he couldn't feel his legs as well. And when he thought things couldn't get any worse, his mind sunk back into a never-ending darkness.

Normandy SR2

It was about dinner time and everyone had gathered in the mess hall in hopes of filling their stomachs with Gardner's grub.

"Hey Grunt," Jack carried her place and sat down opposite the massive Krogan.

"Whaddaya say we become bounty hunters after all this reaper stuff? It'll be just like old times."

Grunt stopped om nom noming his food and thought about the proposition.

"What do you mean just like old times."

"I don't know, just some stupid phrase. But anyway, you interested?"

"Maybe. I think I'll be able to get more action that way. Now it's all diplomatic crap, trying to get people to join our cause against the reapers. And none of the talks get violent." Grunt looked down at his plate, ashamed at how people settled differences.

"Yea I was thinking the same. Just ain't fun no more with the cheerleader gone on another stupid Cerberus project."

"Okay, I'm in. But do you think Shepard will let us start a sparring room of some sort. Eases the stress."

Jack took a spoonful of Gardner's 'special' and put it in her mouth, now wishing she could take it out. She forced it down her throat as she listened to Grunt's idea.

"Well that'll be fun. Don't think commander would wanna join. He's got his own way of easin' his stress." She tried to make it sound as suggestive as possible. "But yea I'll ask him."

Nala walked over to their table and sat down next to Jack, tucking into her dextro-amino acid version of Gardner's 'special'. She watched half in awe and half in shock as Grunt poured the food down his mouth before giving a loud burp.

"Gonna have some more." Grunt muttered before he stood up from his seat.

"How does he do that?" Nala's jaw was still hung wide open.

"Is 'he is a krogan'' an answer enough?" Jack looked at her. "Hey, aren't you the new gal replacing Garrus?"

"Yes." Nala had to use one hand to close her jaw before she could talk with Jack. "Why?"

"Nah, just thought I might need to fill you in on all that's been going on."

"I suppose giving a quick briefing of the crew wouldn't mind."

"Let's see, where should I start. Hmm… alright I'll start with the Cerberus people. The cheerleader, I meant Miranda is a Cerberus bitch who loves getting things her way. Jacob is a nice guy with nice abs. Joker ain't exactly Cerberus and he drives this piece of junk. And he's vulgar, quite."

"Yes, I learnt that."

"Mordin's the smart ass Salarian who can't stop talking. Samara is an asari Justicar, the only person with enough biotic power to match me. Zaeed is a badass merc veteran who loves screwing up and screwing people."

"Ah. I think I've heard enough."

"But I wasn't done with all the crew!"

"Fine, carry on."

"Thane's a drell assassin who had a disease that would most likely kill him off soon. Rosa is another assassin, human this time. Grunt, yea you know him. I'm the kickass biotic, Jack and Tali is the hot quarian chick who's dating Shepard."

"So that's why she willingly lent me her room?"

"You around or not, she would have slept in the loft anyways. By the way, you touch her and Shepard will kill you. Sort of."

"Uh huh. That's very, erm, comforting to know."

"So, what are you ladies talking about?"

Joker hobbled to the seat that was next to Grunt's now empty seat.

"Filling her in on where Tali sleeps."

"Keep it down, she's back.

Even though talking filled the rest of the mess hall, that specific table remained quiet. Jack and Nala looked at Joker, simply staring at him.

"What? I said something wrong?"

"I can hear you, you bosh'tet." Tali stood behind Joker, arms crossed angrily in front of her chest. Joker gulped loudly and looked up, only to face Tali's visor. Even though it was mostly opaque, he could have sworn Tali was staring him down.

"Gulp, erm. Yea, take a seat." Joker got up from his seat and pulled the chair out for her.

"No thanks."

Tali took out one of her tubes of nutrient paste as Joker retook his seat. It wasn't long before Grunt came back with a plate heaped full of food.

"Just my luck to sit next to a Krogan and get stared down by a quarian." Joker muttered under his breath. Tali looked around and realized that Shepard wasn't here. It was quite surprising as he was never one to miss food. She looked at the standard time. It was quite late. Maybe he already ate and was asleep.

Tali finished up her paste as she regarded Nala who was also finishing up her food.

"Nala, I haven't really introduced myself. I'm Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, nice to meet you." She stuck out one hand, waiting for a handshake.

"Still kept the 'Zorah?" Joker interrupted and got an angry glare from Tali's slightly glowing eyes.

The handshake still wasn't returned.

"Erm," Tali grew a bit nervous "Handshake?"

Nala looked at the hand nervously before looking back at Jack. Of course Jack knew what she discreetly tried to ask and put a hand to her face.

"Nala, I didn't mean it literally."

Captain's cabin

Tali pressed her ear on the door, trying her best to find out what Shepard was doing so she wouldn't barge in on something find herself in an awkward position. She still remembered the time that she wanted to pass Shepard some schematics and ended up letting her jaw drop and hit the inside of her suit as he came out of the shower naked.

There was some light music playing. From what she could tell it sounded very old, somewhere from the 21st century.

_Maybe I should just knock and go in. But what if he is sleeping? I don't want to wake him. I should just go in, what's the worst that could happen? Well, I have seen the worst._

Tali gently opened the door a crack to see her lover sitting on a chair with his feet up on the desk, tapping his finger on the desk top to the beat of the music. After finding the situation un-awkward, Tali slid open the door fully and went in. Now that there wasn't a door to block most of the sound, she could hear the lyrics of the music clearly.

_There's a piece of you that's here with me  
It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see  
When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by  
I can make believe that you're here tonight  
That you're here tonight_

Tali slowly worried herself. Was he that emotional and lonely the whole week and a half? It was true that she ended early, but it pained her to see Shepard in such a state.

"Tali, I know you're there. And no, I'm not emo."

Tali was quite shocked that Shepard was able to tell that she was there, and still he was able to read her mind, answer the question that she quietly asked herself.

Shepard patted his lap and Tali took the hint, seating herself comfortable on him as they listened to the old music together.

_I remember the look in your eyes  
When I told you that this was goodbye  
You were begging me not tonight  
Not here, not now  
We're looking up at the same night sky  
And keep pretending the sun will not rise  
Be together for one more night  
Somewhere, somehow_

"Okay, I admit I missed you quite a bit. Partially explains the music."

"So you were lying to me."

"Well, not exactly. I'm not emotional about it."

Tali looked over the contents of the desk. It had changed quite a bit. The little protean artifact still stayed where it was. Shepard had repositioned the model ships so they wouldn't take up much space. The pendant that Tali had given him hung on the wall, next to his medal of honour. A small photo frame was new, displaying a picture of them together, replaced the old photo of Ashley with a large crack over the front glass thanks to Shepard's anger.

She looked over to his bed, which was in a mess, as always. But something caught her eye. It could be the armour that was lazily left on the bed, it could be the blanket that was messily draped over the side. But no, it was one of Shepard's two pillows. It had the word TALI written along the length of the pillow.

"Okay, maybe I missed you a lot."

"You made out with a pillow?"

"Ah, no. Of course not. I don't have a pillow fetish."

"Phew, for a moment there I thought you dumped me for a pillow." Tali joked.

"That's so sad, did you really think I'll do that?" Shepard carefully removed Tali's visor, staring into the ever glowing eyes of hers.

"Of course not, Alex," Tali murmured before pulling herself into a long and passionate kiss with her commander. Shepard fondly stroked the back of her neck which was, even through the suit, sensitive to touch. In response, she gently rubbed her hand along his back, pressing him tightly against her as they held their lips together.

"So, what did you do when I was away?" Tali finally pulled her face away from his, gasping for breath.

"Let's see… I killed two reapers, crashed a rogue Cerberus ship into their base, saved a ton of prisoners, retrieved valuable data. To top it off, TIM said that he managed to trace their 'real' base to Ilos. But he sent his own strike team this time."

"Wow, you really did a lot. It's not fair, all I did was train recruits all day long."

"That must be fun"

"Yea, very fun."

But Shepard's sarcastic response was all but a decoy. Little did she know it, Tali was lifted off the floor by Shepard's strong arms, and before she knew it, she was carefully dropped onto the bed. Shepard let himself flop down next to her.

"I think I'm going to be jealous of 'pillow Tali'."

"Don't worry, I'll give you more attention" Shepard lightly pulled her head towards him as they shared another loving kiss. Tali closed her eyes and relaxed she wrapped her legs around his. "A lot more." Shepard's hand glided up her thigh while Tali used her hands to keep Shepard's face close to hers even after they parted lips. Shepard used his hands to carefully pull back Tali's hood, letting her lush black hair drop down to shoulder length.

"You know, we shouldn't even be doing this. Kal just came in from transfer. You should go talk to him."

"Nah, that can wait. I'm sure he wouldn't mind us having a little, alone time, would he?"

The music slowly faded as the couple enjoyed each other's presence, leaving them alone in a lowly lit, silent cabin.

_If I could find you now things would get better  
We could leave this town and run forever  
I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together  
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away_


	29. Memories

**Hi again. This story is going well I must say. I'm really filled with ideas so yea...**

**I was just wondering if anyone could guess what song was featured in the previous chapter... if you think you know, go post in reviews or something**

Normandy SR2

Ashley.

Tali was disappointed. Shepard had clearly slept with her on the night before Ilos, but Tali questioned if they really cared for each other. Sure there were lustful glances and quick kisses between missions, she was even the first one to report to him when the Normandy came under attack. But Tali hated her guts. Despite all that she was taught on how to forgive and forget, she still got angry after hearing what Ashley had said on Horizon. Were it really true love she would believe in him, trust him even when things went wrong and the odds were against him. Instead she accused him of working with Cerberus and walked out on him.

But Tali, Tali was always there for Shepard. Through thick and thin. When she was thrown off the platform at the collector base, Shepard willingly threw himself down to save her. When Shepard was desperately clinging on for his life, hanging by the floor of the airlock chamber, Tali instinctively put herself in the direct line of collector fire to save Shepard. Shepard had gone out of the way, risking his own reputation when he shouted at the admiralty board. Tali had stood by Shepard and backed him up when the council dismissed the reaper threat. There was nothing but care and concern between them.

Maybe that was why Shepard put Ashley behind him. Why he so willingly let go. Maybe that was why Shepard had married Tali without showing even a hint of hesitation even when faced with the possibility of a political shit storm.

She was his choice...

Tali slowly removed the helmet and walked out the door, not talking to anyone. Both Kasumi and Shepard stared at her as she trailed out the door, walking mindlessly to engineering like a zombie. She needed some time alone to think.

As Tali reached her work console her mind went blank. There were so many questions, yet so little answers. Was there something she didn't know? Was there something she knew but didn't think it was important.

If Shepard really loved her, then why did he sleep with Ashley? It was so confusing to her. He was doing one thing and then doing the entire opposite later.

Was it that he truly loved her but didn't want to inconvenience her because of the biological and physical barriers? But if only he had mentioned it, she would willingly take precautions, like what she did before the Omega-4 relay. Maybe at that time Shepard didn't think it was possible. Then why would he sleep with Ashley? Because of stress? As what Mordin always talking about, having sex because they wanted to release stress?

It was a possibility. They _were _driving a stolen warship off into space, hunting down a rogue spectre directly against the council's orders. Shepard had every right to be stressed.

Tali then remembered that Ashley had sent her that invitation for Tali to visit her family back on earth. Tali simply popped up her omnitool and replied, politely declining on the basis of 'not being free'.

Tali brought her head back up. Ken and Gabby were talking to each other on the job, again. She was already able to sense something going on between them. Hey, if you were stuck working next to someone, especially of the opposite gender, for years on ends, something is bound to develop.

Tali looked back into the drive core. The very same one that always gave her peace, the one that she always found solace in. She always remember something important, something that kept her going. She will always hold it dear to her heart.

She was his choice.

Shepard's POV

"Oh well, that was awkward."

"Did she just walk out on us?"

"Give her some time to think."

"I suppose." Kasumi tapped on her omnitool and powered down the entire system. "You should go see Mordin. Has been going on whole morning about something important."

"Alright then, I'll get going."

"See ya later Shep."

Normandy SR2, Science Lab

Shepard entered to see Mordin at his desk, at usual, but with three cups on the table. Two empty and one half full with coffee. It was scary to think how much he drank. There were three plant specimens on the table. A test tube which had the label 'quarian tissue' on it. Lastly, there was a petridish which had, is that husk tissue? Shepard made a disgusted face as he looked at the tissue. As long as it didn't suddenly pop out and try to eat him, he was fine with it.

"Ah Shepard. Needed to talk. Breakthrough on reaper invasion. Based on their estimated location and moving speed, reapers should arrive in approximately one year's time."

"Wow, that's actually quite some time. It isn't a lot but considering what we've covered in just a few months, that should be quite enough time to prepare."

"Also, need permission to send relevant data and evidence to Alliance, Migrant Fleet, Legion, Urdnot Wreav, Turian fleet and Salarian STG."

"Permission granted. I ain't a big fan of the council, but shouldn't we at least tell them."

"Council, will take too long to look through data, what more accept data and findings. Easier to tell relevant parties directly. Unless you oppose, of course."

"No, I don't oppose. I see your point quite well."

"By the way, did you or Tali find any of my educational vids useful? Hope time spent together was enjoyable."

Shepard stared blankly at the 'very model of a scientist salarian'. Was this all another one of Mordin's jokes? It better not be.

"Erm, no I didn't use them. Found out a lot more on my own."

"Ah, would you like to contribute to the information stockpile then? Donate an educational video or two, maybe some other information? Now tell me, what positions are preferable."

"Don'thavetimegottogonow!" Shepard shot out the words just as quickly as Mordin would have, back stepping out of the science lab and into the CIC, attracting quite a few stares from his fellow crew members. Shepard turned around to face the crew, most of them giving him a o.0 face.

"Ah… I was about to select a destination!" Shepard gave them a thumbs up, trying desperately to clear the awkwardness over why he just rushed out of the science lab. He slowly walked to the Galaxy map, returning some of the stares that were still on him.

"Can't do that Commander, TIM wants to have a chat."

That announcement seemed to clear up the tension.

"If you don't want to chat, he already passed me a message. Says that he managed to track down the final copy of your DNA. Seems like rogue Cerberus is working with the Blue Suns, selling your DNA."

"Joker, I'm just here!"

"It's fun to use the intercom, come on. Anyway, you're supposed to go to Illium, where all illegal stuff come from. When you're there, ask Liara for a contact named Nikolai, true blue Russian, about buying the DNA coding."

"Uh huh, and they will not recognize Shepard how?"

"Looks aren't a problem, random guy with random quarian 'slave', with names Henry and Paloa, they won't know a thing. Fake IDs already made thanks to a certain friend called Fade."

"Why does that sound so familiar?"

"C-Sec promised him a few years off if he did this one favour. Anyway, heading out for Illium, you better get your teams ready. Nobody really knows how this would turn out."

Illium, Red Sand Illegal warehouse

"Hey, are you sure? You're gonna get me Shepard's DNA from a red sand warehouse."

"Hey, don't question the boss. I just follow orders. If you have a problem, you can go find the DNA somewhere else."

"Fine," Shepard stuck his hands up in the air defensively "Fine."

They were left in a large open space while the merc went to the back office to inform his superior only after scanning Shepard for weapons. It was a large warehouse, some LOKI mechs on patrol and some mercs on the catwalks up above. Of course, nobody knew how many hidden snipers were ready just in case the transaction went wrong.

A moment later the same merc came back out, only that now he was accompanied by a man in customized uniform with his rank engraved on the sides. He was closely followed by two of his personal bodyguards who also wore special armour.

Shepard felt so, exposed. Here they were, wearing heavy armour, and here he was in civilians clothes. Both him and Tali didn't even have their shield generators with them. If something went wrong, then could be killed, on spot.

"Henry, so good to meet you in person." The merc with the special insignia stuck out his hand, and Shepard shook it.

"Second Lieutenant? I thought I'll be meeting the boss himself."

"He met with a little, accident, and is now recovering under intensive care."

_Vido is still alive?_

"I see you brought a little friend with you? Is it really, necessary to bring her?" He put a hand on her shoulder and slowly slid it down the length of her arm in a very perverted way. But his hand quickly retracted, for he knew business was business, and that the client should always be happy. From the looks that 'Henry' was giving him, he wasn't too happy.

"I'm sorry, where were my manners. I'm Lieutenant Azda, nice doing business with you."

"I'm still a bit curious with what happened to your boss." Shepard instinctively asked, still partially annoyed at how Azda treated Tali, like a slave and nothing more.

"The curious type I see" Azda gave Shepard a very cautious look "His plan was utterly thrashed by Commander Shepard where he sustained fatal injuries."

"But thanks to your DNA. The Lazarus applied to him."

_Thanks to your DNA. Is it just a slip of tongue, or did he really know who I am. If so, this may go horribly wrong on so many vectors._

"I can thank you so much Henry. Or should I say, Commander Alex Shepard?"

The two bodyguards plus the first merc pulled their guns out, pointed at Shepard, ready to fire. He quickly mapped it out. There were a total of 8 mercs on the catwalks, three on one and five on the other. The four LOKI mechs also had their guns trained on him, waiting for the command. Chances were that there were at least two snipers waiting for the green light to fire. But Shepard too had a contingency plan.

"Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta. Code Zero"

A figure flickered into view as the first merc closest to Shepard had his neck brutally snapped. Kasumi quickly flicked her cloak back on as Rosa and Thane pounced on Azda's two personal guards. With a knife ejected into the neck of the first merc and three quick punches to the wind pipe of the second, the mercs on the ground were all taken care of.

The Blue Suns on the catwalks were quick to react, firing their weapons at Shepard and Tali, only to have their bullets deflected by a very powerful biotic barrier powered up just in time by Samara. Jacob and Zaeed took the opportunity to open fire on the mechs, effectively removing them from the fight.

Two sniper shots rang out, filling the air with a short trail of smoke and a certain amount of suspense. Half expecting one his men to fall, Shepard gasped. But instead two dead mercs fell from their respective hiding places. Looking up behind him, he caught sight of Nala and Legion loading a fresh bullet into their snipers. Jumping out from cover, covered head to toe in blue, pulsing energy, Jack pulled the entire catwalk down with a quick flick of her wrists.

Four mercs plummeted to their death and the last, who was only injured, was mercilessly put down by a Krogan Claymore shotgun. Grunt kicked the dead body aside, picking up a cargo crate with two hands and flung it at the remaining three mercs. The fight was over, and it was in Shepard's favour.

"Bravo Shepard," Azda clapped his hands "Bravo."

Now Shepard noticed it. Why wasn't he careful before, why didn't he pay attention? His focus was drawn to several blinking red lights plastered across the walls of the room. At first he thought they were a code red siren blaring, but now he saw what they really were.

"You had a choice Shepard. You made the wrong one." Azda lifted up one hand to reveal a detonator that he had all along.

"All teams. Disengage! I repeat disengage! This place is going to blow, get back to the ship!"

Shepard turned around and was about to run but he was held back by Azda, who had amazing strength. Almost everyone had turned and left because, as any form of training permits, it's best to get the hell away from a ton of C4 explosives. Only Grunt and Tali were left, with Grunt just finished giving every injured merc a brutal stopped in his tracks


	30. Shepard's Choice

Normandy SR2

Ashley.

Tali was disappointed. Shepard had clearly slept with her on the night before Ilos, but Tali questioned if they really cared for each other. Sure there were lustful glances and quick kisses between missions, she was even the first one to report to him when the Normandy came under attack. But Tali hated her guts. Despite all that she was taught on how to forgive and forget, she still got angry after hearing what Ashley had said on Horizon. Were it really true love she would believe in him, trust him even when things went wrong and the odds were against him. Instead she accused him of working with Cerberus and walked out on him.

But Tali, Tali was always there for Shepard. Through thick and thin. When she was thrown off the platform at the collector base, Shepard willingly threw himself down to save her. When Shepard was desperately clinging on for his life, hanging by the floor of the airlock chamber, Tali instinctively put herself in the direct line of collector fire to save Shepard. Shepard had gone out of the way, risking his own reputation when he shouted at the admiralty board. Tali had stood by Shepard and backed him up when the council dismissed the reaper threat. There was nothing but care and concern between them.

Maybe that was why Shepard put Ashley behind him. Why he so willingly let go. Maybe that was why Shepard had married Tali without showing even a hint of hesitation even when faced with the possibility of a political shit storm.

She was his choice...

Tali slowly removed the helmet and walked out the door, not talking to anyone. Both Kasumi and Shepard stared at her as she trailed out the door, walking mindlessly to engineering like a zombie. She needed some time alone to think.

As Tali reached her work console her mind went blank. There were so many questions, yet so little answers. Was there something she didn't know? Was there something she knew but didn't think it was important.

If Shepard really loved her, then why did he sleep with Ashley? It was so confusing to her. He was doing one thing and then doing the entire opposite later.

Was it that he truly loved her but didn't want to inconvenience her because of the biological and physical barriers? But if only he had mentioned it, she would willingly take precautions, like what she did before the Omega-4 relay. Maybe at that time Shepard didn't think it was possible. Then why would he sleep with Ashley? Because of stress? As what Mordin always talking about, having sex because they wanted to release stress?

It was a possibility. They _were _driving a stolen warship off into space, hunting down a rogue spectre directly against the council's orders. Shepard had every right to be stressed.

Tali then remembered that Ashley had sent her that invitation for Tali to visit her family back on earth. Tali simply popped up her omnitool and replied, politely declining on the basis of 'not being free'.

Tali brought her head back up. Ken and Gabby were talking to each other on the job, again. She was already able to sense something going on between them. Hey, if you were stuck working next to someone, especially of the opposite gender, for years on ends, something is bound to develop.

Tali looked back into the drive core. The very same one that always gave her peace, the one that she always found solace in. She always remember something important, something that kept her going. She will always hold it dear to her heart.

She was his choice.

Shepard's POV

"Oh well, that was awkward."

"Did she just walk out on us?"

"Give her some time to think."

"I suppose." Kasumi tapped on her omnitool and powered down the entire system. "You should go see Mordin. Has been going on whole morning about something important."

"Alright then, I'll get going."

"See ya later Shep."

Normandy SR2, Science Lab

Shepard entered to see Mordin at his desk, at usual, but with three cups on the table. Two empty and one half full with coffee. It was scary to think how much he drank. There were three plant specimens on the table. A test tube which had the label 'quarian tissue' on it. Lastly, there was a petridish which had, is that husk tissue? Shepard made a disgusted face as he looked at the tissue. As long as it didn't suddenly pop out and try to eat him, he was fine with it.

"Ah Shepard. Needed to talk. Breakthrough on reaper invasion. Based on their estimated location and moving speed, reapers should arrive in approximately one year's time."

"Wow, that's actually quite some time. It isn't a lot but considering what we've covered in just a few months, that should be quite enough time to prepare."

"Also, need permission to send relevant data and evidence to Alliance, Migrant Fleet, Legion, Urdnot Wreav, Turian fleet and Salarian STG."

"Permission granted. I ain't a big fan of the council, but shouldn't we at least tell them."

"Council, will take too long to look through data, what more accept data and findings. Easier to tell relevant parties directly. Unless you oppose, of course."

"No, I don't oppose. I see your point quite well."

"By the way, did you or Tali find any of my educational vids useful? Hope time spent together was enjoyable."

Shepard stared blankly at the 'very model of a scientist salarian'. Was this all another one of Mordin's jokes? It better not be.

"Erm, no I didn't use them. Found out a lot more on my own."

"Ah, would you like to contribute to the information stockpile then? Donate an educational video or two, maybe some other information? Now tell me, what positions are preferable."

"Don'thavetimegottogonow!" Shepard shot out the words just as quickly as Mordin would have, back stepping out of the science lab and into the CIC, attracting quite a few stares from his fellow crew members. Shepard turned around to face the crew, most of them giving him a o.0 face.

"Ah… I was about to select a destination!" Shepard gave them a thumbs up, trying desperately to clear the awkwardness over why he just rushed out of the science lab. He slowly walked to the Galaxy map, returning some of the stares that were still on him.

"Can't do that Commander, TIM wants to have a chat."

That announcement seemed to clear up the tension.

"If you don't want to chat, he already passed me a message. Says that he managed to track down the final copy of your DNA. Seems like rogue Cerberus is working with the Blue Suns, selling your DNA."

"Joker, I'm just here!"

"It's fun to use the intercom, come on. Anyway, you're supposed to go to Illium, where all illegal stuff come from. When you're there, ask Liara for a contact named Nikolai, true blue Russian, about buying the DNA coding."

"Uh huh, and they will not recognize Shepard how?"

"Looks aren't a problem, random guy with random quarian 'slave', with names Henry and Paloa, they won't know a thing. Fake IDs already made thanks to a certain friend called Fade."

"Why does that sound so familiar?"

"C-Sec promised him a few years off if he did this one favour. Anyway, heading out for Illium, you better get your teams ready. Nobody really knows how this would turn out."

Illium, Red Sand Illegal warehouse

"Hey, are you sure? You're gonna get me Shepard's DNA from a red sand warehouse."

"Hey, don't question the boss. I just follow orders. If you have a problem, you can go find the DNA somewhere else."

"Fine," Shepard stuck his hands up in the air defensively "Fine."

They were left in a large open space while the merc went to the back office to inform his superior only after scanning Shepard for weapons. It was a large warehouse, some LOKI mechs on patrol and some mercs on the catwalks up above. Of course, nobody knew how many hidden snipers were ready just in case the transaction went wrong.

A moment later the same merc came back out, only that now he was accompanied by a man in customized uniform with his rank engraved on the sides. He was closely followed by two of his personal bodyguards who also wore special armour.

Shepard felt so, exposed. Here they were, wearing heavy armour, and here he was in civilians clothes. Both him and Tali didn't even have their shield generators with them. If something went wrong, then could be killed, on spot.

"Henry, so good to meet you in person." The merc with the special insignia stuck out his hand, and Shepard shook it.

"Second Lieutenant? I thought I'll be meeting the boss himself."

"He met with a little, accident, and is now recovering under intensive care."

_Vido is still alive?_

"I see you brought a little friend with you? Is it really, necessary to bring her?" He put a hand on her shoulder and slowly slid it down the length of her arm in a very perverted way. But his hand quickly retracted, for he knew business was business, and that the client should always be happy. From the looks that 'Henry' was giving him, he wasn't too happy.

"I'm sorry, where were my manners. I'm Lieutenant Azda, nice doing business with you."

"I'm still a bit curious with what happened to your boss." Shepard instinctively asked, still partially annoyed at how Azda treated Tali, like a slave and nothing more.

"The curious type I see" Azda gave Shepard a very cautious look "His plan was utterly thrashed by Commander Shepard where he sustained fatal injuries."

"But thanks to your DNA. The Lazarus applied to him."

_Thanks to your DNA. Is it just a slip of tongue, or did he really know who I am. If so, this may go horribly wrong on so many vectors._

"I can thank you so much Henry. Or should I say, Commander Alex Shepard?"

The two bodyguards plus the first merc pulled their guns out, pointed at Shepard, ready to fire. He quickly mapped it out. There were a total of 8 mercs on the catwalks, three on one and five on the other. The four LOKI mechs also had their guns trained on him, waiting for the command. Chances were that there were at least two snipers waiting for the green light to fire. But Shepard too had a contingency plan.

"Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta. Code Zero"

A figure flickered into view as the first merc closest to Shepard had his neck brutally snapped. Kasumi quickly flicked her cloak back on as Rosa and Thane pounced on Azda's two personal guards. With a knife ejected into the neck of the first merc and three quick punches to the wind pipe of the second, the mercs on the ground were all taken care of.

The Blue Suns on the catwalks were quick to react, firing their weapons at Shepard and Tali, only to have their bullets deflected by a very powerful biotic barrier powered up just in time by Samara. Jacob and Zaeed took the opportunity to open fire on the mechs, effectively removing them from the fight.

Two sniper shots rang out, filling the air with a short trail of smoke and a certain amount of suspense. Half expecting one his men to fall, Shepard gasped. But instead two dead mercs fell from their respective hiding places. Looking up behind him, he caught sight of Nala and Legion loading a fresh bullet into their snipers. Jumping out from cover, covered head to toe in blue, pulsing energy, Jack pulled the entire catwalk down with a quick flick of her wrists.

Four mercs plummeted to their death and the last, who was only injured, was mercilessly put down by a Krogan Claymore shotgun. Grunt kicked the dead body aside, picking up a cargo crate with two hands and flung it at the remaining three mercs. The fight was over, and it was in Shepard's favour.

"Bravo Shepard," Azda clapped his hands "Bravo."

Now Shepard noticed it. Why wasn't he careful before, why didn't he pay attention? His focus was drawn to several blinking red lights plastered across the walls of the room. At first he thought they were a code red siren blaring, but now he saw what they really were.

"You had a choice Shepard. You made the wrong one." Azda lifted up one hand to reveal a detonator that he had all along.

"All teams. Disengage! I repeat disengage! This place is going to blow, get back to the ship!"

Shepard turned around and was about to run but he was held back by Azda, who had amazing strength. Almost everyone had turned and left because, as any form of training permits, it's best to get the hell away from a ton of C4 explosives. Only Grunt and Tali were left, with Grunt just finished giving every injured merc a brutal death. Grunt stopped in his tracks, caught in a dilemma of whether to run and save his own life, or risk it and save his battle master as well. Shepard had always treated him well, with respect and trust, why should he let Shepard down now, in his time of need.

"Grunt! Run. Not even Krogan can survive that much!" Two mercs came running out the doorway from the office, helping to restrain Shepard as he tried to break free.

"Shepard!" Tali looked blankly at Shepard. She didn't know what to do. He was right, the place was about to blow, but she wouldn't leave Shepard there, not Shepard.

"Tali, go!" Shepard shouted at her. Tali heeded his command, turning slowly so as to catch one last glimpse of him.

"Go!" Shepard was then silenced by a uppercut to the jaw that knocked him unconscious. Tali noticed trouble would soon find her if she didn't get out of there, and fast. Tali started to sprint for the exit.

_Pheww_

A sniper bullet soared through the air, puncturing Tali's environmental suit and tearing through the flesh in her leg. A sudden wave of sharp pain shot through her, causing her to collapse on the floor, clutching her leg in agony. The suit was quick to patch itself up, but Tali could see blood pooling around the entry wound. She cried out in pain, crying out for Shepard to save her. But the only person that came running to her was a merc, carrying a syringe with him for the matter of fact.

She felt the needle pierce her skin before she started to feel a little light headed, only then did she realise that they had just pumped her with sleeping drugs. Through her slightly blurring vision and feelings, she felt two mercs drag her across the floor to a nearby shuttle waiting outside, leaving a small trail of blood in its wake. She noticed Shepard's body being strapped down to a table in the back of the shuttle. Tali was then hoisted onto the table next to Shepard.

"Shepard!" Tali cried softly, words unable to be heard by anyone but herself.

When she realized she and Shepard were going off-world, she was already feeling very dizzy.

"Shepard, please! Don't" Tali couldn't even complete her sentence before her senses and control started to falter.

_I hope the Normandy can track us. _Was Tali's last words before being consumed by the darkness that lay all around her.


	31. Information

**Hey, sorry about the long wait guys. I received a couple of pms and reviews asking if Tali was dead. I'll kill myself is she was, just to let you know. I was just caught up with a few exams and didn't really remember to post the latest chapter. Well, this story will continue, and i'm free again :D.**

Till the next time,

* * *

Nondescript space station

Tali woke up with a major headache. She propped herself up against a nearby wall and took a good look of where she was. The last she remembered was being hauled into a shuttle before falling unconscious. For a prison, the room was surprisingly clean. The walls were whitewashed, the air smelled heavily of antiseptic and the floor was filled with glassy tiles, reflecting the light that shone from simple lamps that were attached to the ceiling. There was no beds or a chair or any other furniture for that matter of face. The only opening was a doorway, covered not by a door but by a force field. Tali looked back at Shepard, who was still unconscious and lying on the floor.

She couldn't really tell if he was a sleep or still unconscious from the blow. But the slight snoring that came from him told her otherwise. Maybe Shepard knew where they were, or why the Blue Suns had taken them captive instead of just killing them there and then. Tali herself wondered what time it was, morning, afternoon, evening. There was a window which showed out to space, viewing area filled with a planet that looked as nondescript as the room itself.

Maybe it was morning. From what Tali knew, most knock-out drugs usually put the patient to sleep until woken up by a biological clock. Tali instinctively rubbed her eyes, and was even more surprised that she could. Looking down at herself, she realized she was clad in a white Tee-shirt, to match the white walls and floor, and a pair of tight fitting track pants.

"I hope you appreciate it, took a lot to sterilize this whole damn area." Azda stood by the transparent door, hands casually folded in front of his chest.

"Why did you take off my suit!"

"Patience young girl, all will be revealed in a matter of time." Azda purposely changed his tone to sound a little more mysterious.

"So you strip me naked just to put me in some other clothes? What purpose does that serve?"

"I decided that you and your suit had to part ways. And don't worry about it, I didn't to anything to you." He held up the two rings that Tali and Shepard had both been wearing "Brutal and violent I may be, I respect honour as much as Shepard does."

_Damn, I have to start wearing those undergarments that humans keep calling a 'bra'._

"Oh well, enjoy the time while you can. Talks start in a few hours time." He pointed up towards a clock which was hung on the wall. Apparently Tali hadn't noticed it when she woke up. Then again she just woke up. "Oh, and wake Shepard up if he doesn't." She watched in half puzzlement and half fear as Azda walked away.

A few hours later saw Tali hugging Shepard desperately once he woke up. His first question wasn't where are we or who brought us here, but was

"Tali! You don't have your suit on! Are you okay?"

"Shepard I'm fine, I'm fine. They seem to be a lot nicer than we thought. He went to the trouble to bring us to a sterile medical facility so I could go without my suit."

"And what a well furnished apartment."

"I haven't figured that out yet. But that Lieutenant Azda, he seems quite nice, I just got this gut feeling that he's good. He said he didn't even touch me when I was deprived of my suit."

"But he touched you in a way that shouldn't be when we were back at the warehouse."

"So he might have, but he took his hand away suddenly, as if he knew he was doing something wrong. Anyway, he said that he wanted to talk in a few hours sometime ago. Either way, it's just my word against yours."

"Oh well, if that's the case." He looked down at his clothes, they were still the civvy clothes he had on "Well, there's nothing I can change into"

"I suppose all we have to do is wait."

*Insert Shepard and Tali's stoning here*

Shepard was off in another imaginary world. All he could do now was to reminiscence about the good time on the Normandy SR1.

He was jolted back to reality when the barrier blocking their door flickered and died. A regular merc walked in. "Excuse me Mr Shepard." He poited a hand at the now clear path "Sir Azda would like to talk to you."

Shepard and Tali walked with the merc down the long hallway.

"So… no armed guards? And just one? Aren't they afraid I may try to run?"

"The Lieutenant believes that you and your wife aren't a threat. He think you would co-operate." The man took a left and let them down an equally eerie hallway "I don't think you'll want to escape anyway. Azda says it's very important. After all, the reapers are the real threat, not you."

"Finally!" Shepard threw his hands up, shocking the poor escort out of his wits "Someone who personally believes me."

"Straight ahead, first door on the left" The merc said his final words before breaking off into a door on the right, presumably back to his post.

Shepard boldly walked forward, knowing well that it may be a trap. Tali followed closely behind him, wringing her hands nervously at Shepard's forced bravado. He followed the guard's instructions taking the first left into a well furnished room. There was a single clean bed, a table with four chairs, a desk with writing materials. This was clearly someone's own quarters.

He drew his attention to the table with four chairs. One of them was taken by no other than Lieutenant Azda, and the seat next to him occupied by a hooded figure, dressed is a exquisitely decorated robe that reminded him of Tali's environmental suit based on the pattern design. On the table was placed a plate of turian food and another plate of two slices of bread and a cup of coffee.

"Ah, sorry, must be the wrong room."

"Shepard. Sit down, you look very tense."

Shepard cautiously took his seat, still very suspicious at the sudden hospitality. So Tali was right when she said that they were acting rather awkward and surprisingly kind. Tali took her seat next to Shepard after he had fully sat down.

"And why would I not be? Kidnapped and taken to a space station in hell know where?"

Shepard tried to take in as much as possible. The turian food meant that the hooded figure was likely a turian with no doubt. The human food was most likely Azda's own breakfast. Azda has his hands clasped in front of his face, elbows on the table. The hooded figure was still unseen even from Shepard's angle. From what he deduced, he had to be important enough to be here.

"I wanted to talk about something that will interest you. A lot." Azda unclasped his hands and placed them at his sides now. "The blue suns have grown to recognize the threat of the reapers. The only thing that stood in between our help and you is actually Vido. He refused to work with you after you blew up most of our mining efforts and all, especially after rumour got around that you were working with Zaeed Massani."

"I can't overpower him for one reason, that being that if I stop his recovery efforts, I'll be a chuck full of holes by the time I even reach that door. But I've talked enough, the Blue Sun's very good friend will tell you more." Azda raised an upturned palm at the hooded figure, indicating for him to speak. "Ah, eat the food before it gets cold by the way."

Shepard chose to ignore the food for the moment. The hooded figure lifted his head up to face Shepard.

"Greetings Shepard. I have to give you my thanks. You managed to talk Liara out of interfering with our plans. That much I can thank you."

"Wait a second, you're telling me that **you're **the Shadow Broker?"

"Indeed, yes I am. But now that Liara's efforts have seized, we can focus on the more important task, the reapers." He clicked a few things on his omnitool under the table and a blueprint of a reaper's entire structure appeared above the table. "As you can see, the shield works separately from the mass effect core, meaning that taking out the mass effect core may not leave it vulnerable. An infiltration team is also not recommended as dozens of husks inhabit the many ventilation systems."

"The currently used reaper buster has been relatively efficient." A few more unseen taps and an animation of a reaper buster in action was shown "However, the shields still prove to be an issue. Although the Fleet has been successful in taking them out, the small ships sent to disrupt the shield would be targeted and destroyed if the reapers attack in bulk."

Tali immediately knew something was amiss here. Why had the Shadow Broker need to hide his omnitool when everything else was so open, even the offering of food? Why did the pattern of his robe look so much like a quarian's? But Tali kept her questions.

"What I suggest is that a virus be created to down all their shields at the same time when the reapers attack. As what Shepard did to rewrite the geth, a simple code could be created to infect all reapers through their communications channels. It would be easy to disrupt their shields if the virus is activated properly."

"It would be no problem for her, Tali'Zorah to develop a code like this. She if after all the best programmer and engineer the fleet has ever seen."

Now Tali was incredibly suspicious. He made two references directly to the Migrant Fleet. Only a quarian would refer to the Migrant Fleet as the fleet so casually. She had to ask, it was biting away at her, slowly triggering her curiousity.

"Once Vido has gone through the short revival course, we will decide on our course of action. If possible, the Blue Suns will not hesitate to send our aid to help in the reaper effort." Azda interjected.

"We will be more than happy to receive help." Shepard replied, taking a small bite out of his piece of bread.

"That concludes the idea that I have. May I also suggest that, Tali, you eat the food. You are one of the very lucky ones to be able to get out of your suit, even under secure conditions such as these."

Tali jumped at his last sentence. "Are you a quarian?" Tali acted on impulse before regretting her words when she got a harsh stare from Shepard. She knew very well that if he was simply a racist she could have been subjected to torture immediately.

"Is that really what you want to ask? Because from your looks, it looks like you are just about to take what you said back."

Tali exchanged looks with Shepard, who had a very disapproving look, and then with Azda, who still had a very straight face on. It was a tough choice. What did she stand to gain? If the Shadow Broker was a quarian so what? Did it benefit her to know that small piece of information? If she was wrong and she ended up offending someone, she knew very well she and Shepard's stay wouldn't be very nice anymore.

Tali had to make that choice, they were all staring at her, putting insurmountable pressure on her. Shepard's look almost pleaded her to take it back and to keep quiet, for they were essentially living on extended time. Finally Tali made that choice.

"No. I want to know." Shepard shook his head, knowing that this would be the end for them.

"Then I suppose it is fair enough, considering you even had the bravery to ask me such a question."


	32. Ignorance is Bliss

**Sorry for the long wait ppl, but I spent a lot of time thinking through the plot. I also went about doing quite a few fan vids and those take time. I haven't forgotten this story and it's gonna work out well, don't worry**

Normandy SR2

The whole of the relevant crew gathered around the large table in the briefing room with Joker sitting at the end, heading the current meeting.

"Alright, has anyone managed to get a lead on him yet?" Joker asked the many members of Shepard's elite crew.

"I have not been able to locate him yet." Samara said coolly "If there was any pain or sadness his location would have lit up immediately."

"Alright, keep working on it. Jacob? Anything?"

"No, his side arm hasn't been used yet. If he was captured I don't think he would have a chance to use it."

"Ugh… this is going nowhere."

"Maybe someone else should be in charge of this. You know, maybe someone who isn't crippled…" Jack rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" Joker stood up firmly. "Crippled as I may be, I'm one of Shepard's first few. How many of you have been through Saren? The battle of the Citadel? Who flew the ship that helped defeat Sovereign?" Joker pointed an accusing finger at Jack, then slowly moved to face the rest of them. "Which of you was with him two months later when he got spaced?" Joker said solemnly before hobbling out the briefing room.

"He's got a point. Among Shepard's best friends Tali, Garrus and Joker he's the only one left on board." Kasumi mentioned matter of factly.

Nondescript space station

Tali was almost certain that she had to pay for what she had just mentioned. But as she confirmed her question, she couldn't help but notice Azda form a slight smile, followed almost by a nod from the Shadow Broker.

But a short resounding beep interrupted them. Azda picked up his comm. and gave a few acknowledgements before turning his attention back to Shepard.

"I'm sorry but we can't entertain you further. Your question has to wait. I just got the signal that he's needed." He jerked a thumb at the Shadow Broker.

Azda pushed his chair back, away from the table, generating a high pitched screeching sound. He got up and turned towards the door, making a hand gesture for the shadow broker to follow. It was not long before they were out the door and Azda had it locked.

Medical Wing

"Organs have been fully regenerated, blood pressure is in the green and heartbeat is normal." One of the medical staff worked at his console, checking up on Vido's current situation.

"Are you sure? Check immune system and digestive capabilities." The project manager crossed his arms. "I don't want him to wake up in bad shape and kill the whole lot of us for it later."

"I'm quite sure. Immune system is currently rebuilding at an incredibly slow rate. Approximately two years before full capacity. Digestive system online, and memories restored."

"Good. Now all we have to do is wait for the Lieutenant and his Shadowy buddy to get over here."

The manager walked over to the bacta tank in which his boss was held in. They had recently tweaked the Lazarus project so that the body would regenerate faster. Of course, that meant the immune system wouldn't have the same amount of time to fully heal. One tiny little bacteria could prove fatal to him.

Personally he thought Vido looked like a mess. Half of his face had a metal plate put over it to hold the bone in place. The other half was horribly scarred. It was hard to imagine that he was actually suspended upright in the tank. Needles in each limb ensured that the blood and mineral levels were monitored. If it weren't for the huge costs, the Blue Suns might as well start a cloning factory.

The project manager walked away from the disgusting sight back to his work station in the next room. He sat down at his desk which had a datapad on it. After a brief look he remembered what it was. The terms of agreement for the trade of Lazarus project information and Shepard's DNA attached. Of course, he remembered how that turned out. The Blue Suns don't buy anything, they take it.

"Heh," he chuckled to himself as he reminiscence in the time not too long ago where he put a bullet right in between the Cerberus officer's eyes.

A buzzing sound brought him back to the present. Azda and his buddy was here.

Back on the Normandy

"You got to be kidding!" Joker stared at her. "Please, tell me you're kidding"

"Do I look like I'm kidding to you?" Rosa's voice almost came to a shout.

"Hey! Easy. Besides, I can't really tell, you know with the hood and all."

"Hey, miss anything?" Zaeed strolled into the briefing room. At least everyone was accounted for now.

"This is an important meeting called by Rosa. She just received information from Liara that the Blue Suns were up to something" Joker answered.

"Well," Rosa continued to read off her omnitool "according to the information that Liara managed to get off the Shadow Broker's leaked channel, the Blue Suns managed to retrieve Vido Santiago's body and put it in statis."

"Yeah, well who the hell cares about that?"

"Because the Admiralty Board just told me that the group of Cerberus rebels that one of ships was tracking just got robbed of their tech by the Blue Suns." Kal'Reegar tapped on his omnitool.

"And what exactly was that tech that was so important?" Thane leaned forward onto the table.

"It is everything and everything that needs to be known, all the hard work of Cerberus was copied by the rebels." Jacob's tone was soft and solemn.

"I'm still not getting it!" Zaeed showed that he was irritated by raising his voice. "You talk about Vido Santiago then you talk about Cerberus, what's the bloody link?"

"Holy shit! I think I know." Joker slammed a fist on the table, garnering a loud yell from him. "OUCH!" Everyone turned to him to check if he was okay. "I'm fine, not broken. But I know what them Blue Suns want. Something only Cerberus would have." The suspense was killing everyone. "The Lazarus project!"

*Gasp from Thane*

*Gasp from Kasumi*

*Gasp from Nala*

*Nod from Jacob*

*Raised eyebrow from Jack*

*Blank stare from Grunt*

*Break in blue meditation from Samara*

*Bowed head from Rosa*

"Wait, what? I don't get it still" from Zaeed.

"They're trying to revive that son of a bitch." Kal'Reegar said non-chalantly.

"You're not worried at all?" Joker asked.

"I'm worried as hell! Can't you read the look on my face!"

Joker just face palmed.

Joker's face palming was interrupted by Kelly bursting into the room. "We just got a report from Operative Lawson. She wants to see Shepard."

"Yeah, tell her to wait in line."

"She had the meeting flagged as red, it's of utmost importance."

"We'll tell him as soon as we find him." Joker rubbed his temples, trying his best to ease his throbbing headache.

"Managed to track Maleon, trying more sick experiments." Mordin burst into the room reading off the data pad while explaining his situation. "Managed to track him to Pragia."

"I thought we blew the hell out of that place already!"

"Managed to rebuild certain parts of the Teltin facility, now a medical lab. Implications unpleasant."

"Could we ignore the not immediate threat until we actually FIND Shepard? Then we can go about gaining everyone's trust."

"Alright, fine. Will put on hold."

Planet Pragia

"Are you sure it's safe to continue? The patient doesn't look very stable. His heart isn't even beating properly."

"A slight complication, will ignore it to continue the rebuilding progress."

"But if I am not wrong sir, isn't it unsafe to restart the rest of him when his heart isn't working?"

"Maybe, but I need to complete him before the time comes. And if I am not wrong, Shepard has already been captured, we need him up soon."

"I can always implant a system to regulate heartbeat, but that may have further complications."

"Just do it, complication not foreseen to be severe. As the humans like to say, ignorance is bliss." With that, Maleon waved his assistant away as he got back to work.

Space Station - Nondescript

"Well, that turned out better than expected." Shepard stretched his back as he got out of his chair. "At least they didn't try to shoot us."

"That's a first for the Blue Suns." Tali replied in between chews. It was very rarely she could eat solid food. Yeah her immune system had improved, but a infection could still prove fatal.

"So how long do you think they'll keep us here?"

"I don't know, but I overheard some people talking about Vido Santiago being revived."

"Let's just try to ignore that for the time being. Could you get a signal to the Normandy? Let me talk to them."

"They took away my omnitool. Even if you contact them, they're just going to blow the whole place up."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to tell them NOT to do. They'll track us eventually, and I don't want them to just nuke the whole station, some people here are good, most of them are.

"Shepard, I get it. Calm down" Tali put a reassuring hand on his shoulder "Until someone decides to do something we're kind of stuck here."

"We need to think of a way to get out, nab the important people like the Shadow Broker, Azda then we jack a shuttle."

"I'll try to see what I can do. You should go get some rest."

"Personally I think I've rested enough."

Shepard sat down on the bed, staring into the wall as he gently swayed his legs back and forth. Meanwhile Tali tried to hack into the lock, trying all the basic programs that she memorized. After much frustration and countless programs tried, Tali gave up and sat on the floor. "Shepard, I think they use fingerprint sensing to make sure it's the correct person keying in the code."

Shepard patted the bed area next to him, beckoning for Tali to come sit with him. "Oh well. So what do we do now?"

"The same thing as before, sit and wait."

"That's exactly what I don't like doing, sitting and waiting isn't really my type of thing to do."

Tali flopped herself down on the bed, stretching herself until she hit the wall, hands in the air. Shepard grabbed her hand and pulled her back up into a sitting position, taking her lips into his and his other hand caressing her hair.

Tali loved the spontaneous moment, enjoying it as she could before she was aware of reality. She pushed Shepard away slightly, breaking the kiss. "Not now Shepard, they could be watching."

Shepard reluctantly turned away, looking back at the wall he was once staring at.

"Shepard, I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way."

Shepard turned back to face those silver, glowing eyes. "Don't worry Tali, it isn't what you did. It's okay. I just don't like when everywhere I go I get into trouble, and when you follow, you just get dragged into the same mess a I am in."

"Shepard, you know very well why I choose to follow you. I love you and I trust you, I'll gladly be dragged into this if it means I don't have to watch you suffer alone."

"Oh well, then, let's umm, try to break up this awkward moment here."

"So… why do you think the Normandy hasn't came to our rescue yet?"

"I don't know, there's a tracking device placed in my suit but not on me and they confiscated both our omnitools so that leaves us with no way to let them know we're here."

"Shepard, do you think Samara could track us? You know, being an Asari justicar wouldn't her biotics be very good, to the point where she could track down our location?"

"That much I don't know, as much as I hate to admit it, I haven't really spent much time talking to Samara."

"Alright"

Tali began to swing her legs aimlessly the way Shepard swung his legs earlier. The minutes slowly began to slip by as the couple desperately tried to find a way out of their plight, coupled only by the slight shuffling sounds of the guards outside.

"Aha!" Shepard exclaimed, scaring the crap out of Tali who was lying on the bed with her eyes closed.

"They're reviving Vido right? Or at least trying to, and that will certainly catch the attention of a certain Zaeed we know. And with Liara's constant tracking of the Shadow Broker, I'm sure two people will be able to find the place."

"Maybe, I just hope so."

Tali said before drifting off to sleep.


	33. Revival Instinct

Planet Pragia

Maleon prepped the subject's body for initial start up. The cybernetic implantation process was complete, and it was time to wake him up.

"Carry on, start brain processes. We don't have much time, Shepard needs our help."

"Shepard?" His assistant raised an eyebrow "You're carrying out this painful, multimillion dollar project to help Shepard? What could this _turian_ have much use for him?"

"Calm down, we just need him. I do not need to explain all this to you." Maleon had to keep in mind that his second in command was a Krogan.

Garrus blinked his eyes as he awoke from his seemingly endless slumber. His vision was blurry, and he shook his head multiple times to clear his vision slightly. His first sight was a Salarian staring right at him with hands behind his back.

Instincts took over as he shot out a hand and grabbed his neck and made a low, vicious and primal growl. "What did you do to me?" Garrus turned his head, eyes still blurred from the sudden presence of a bright light. Two armed Krogan had their shotguns turned on him, fingers on the trigger. On a table across him was a tray holding a vast array of medical tools and all sorts of different equipment.

He tightened his grip on the Salarian's neck, "Where am I? Who are you?" He stared into the large beady eyes of the Salarian which had the words 'where did I go wrong' written all over them.

"If you release me, I will tell you." Maleon only managed to choke out the words.

"Give my one good reason to do so!" Garrus snarled. When his vision cleared, he realized that his hand was not the flesh and blood that he was once, instead it was clearly synthetic, metallic bones which still had circuitry running to and fro. He hesitantly released his grip to get a good look at the rest of his body. His right leg was fully synthetic from the knee onwards and his left was almost completely wrapped in sterile bandages.

"What happened…?" Garrus' tone dropped a notch and was filled with sadness and shock all of a sudden.

"You were killed in action." Maleon subconsciously rubbed the sides of his neck, wiping off a small trace of blood left by the effects of a metal talon. "I brought you back to life."

"Heh, I see it took you shorter than two years." Garrus commented with a tinge of his newly regained sarcasm.

"Why would it take two years? Any Salarian scientist should know the many flaws in the Lazarus project that took Cerberus two years instead of the few months needed."

"You still haven't answered my question." Garrus swung his legs off the medical table, testing his weight on it as he carefully stood. There was no sharp aching pain that was supposed to shoot through his legs. They were as new. "Where am I? Who are you? And why didn't you just let me enjoy afterlife?"

"I am Maleon, but that is immaterial to you." Maleon opened up a wide projected holo image with the wave of his hand "You are on Pragia, where the old Teltin facility lies. Garrus, I brought you back because Shepard needs you." The blank holo changed to Shepard's holding cell, the image clearly stolen off the Blue Suns' security cameras. The holo then flicked to the medical lab where Vido was being reconstructed.

"I don't think I'm ready for a heroic rescue." Garrus exercised his shoulder only to hear it creak loudly.

"But you would have to. There is no choice. The Normandy does not know of this, and if Vido were to be able to get back up and kill Shepard before you get there, we all know what's going to happen to the Galaxy."

"Okay, fine. But couldn't we just tell the Normandy where Shepard is?"

"Yes and no." Maleon started to walk towards the exit and Garrus just followed. It was better than staying along with the Krogan bodyguards anyway. "A large ship would just give it away and make them speed up the process. They already agreed to lend me one of the elite crew members to join you. Together you two will act as a supply transport to infiltrate the medical space station."

Maleon stopped by a weapons rack, picked a sniper rifle and thrust it into Garrus' hands. He picked up a new, bright blue armour from another rack and gave it to Garrus. "The old one was quite vaporized. Now hurry, the Normandy member would be here soon."

"Somehow I seem to remember you."

"You were with Shepard on Tuchanka."

"Ah, now I remember." Garrus' facial expression dropped to a very serious and deadly level "You're the one who did all those sick experiments on the Krogan."

"Put the past behind us. Bringing back his best friend is the least I can do for him after he stopped Mordin from painting the tank with my brains."

Space station Sephrion (Medical station Vido is held on)

"Alright, we're here." The Shadow Broker announced his and Azda's arrival to the medical centre.

Vido immediately went over to the manager to check on current progress while the Shadow Broker went to a separate room to work on Vido's final stage of revival.

"Sir!" The two guard's who were standing by the research bay gave the Shadow Broker a quick salute before keying open the door. Placed neatly on a table in pristine condition was Tali's environmental suit.

"Well, time to get to work." He muttered to himself as began to start making the outline of a new suit.

EXODUS Station

"I hope you haven't forgotten."

"No ma'am I haven't."

"So you do remember why you volunteered to sign up to this."

"Of… of course I do!" The scientist say with new found confidence.

"Then you wouldn't mind telling me which part of this whole operation that you disagree with." Miranda clasped her hands on her desk and put on her trademark smirk.

"I don't see how we're going to find any use pouring resources into, into this _infant_."

"Ahh, I see what you are referring to." Miranda stood up from her desk to see the scientist face to face. "You do know how big a favour we are doing Shepard right?"

"Yes."

Miranda took a menacing step forward "You ever heard of the phrase 'you scratch my back I scratch your's'? I'm sure you have."

The scientist automatically took a step back to follow Miranda's pace. "Yes, I have. So you're going to use this to get Shepard to do Cerberus a favour when we need one?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he will help us even if we don't help him. Or maybe he won't help us no matter what. The Illusive Man did a good job pissing him off. Now enough with the talk, show me that we have made progress."

"Yes, right this way ma'am." The scientist opened the door and allowed Miranda to exit first before he followed suit.

Planet Pragia

Garrus had donned the new set of battle armour and attached the new "Widow" sniper rifle to his back. Walking back to the original table of various weapons, he decided to sling and Avenger assault rifle over his shoulder and take a side arm.

"Hmm… which one should I take?"

"The first has a burst fire mechanism with a higher magazine size but lacks power." Maleon's assistant was there to guide Garrus along with the new weapons that they developed "The second has more power, slightly less accurate and two shots less than the first. Also you can only fire one shot at a time."

"Argh heck I'll take both" Garrus grabbed the first with his left and the second in his right before crossing his hands and attaching the two pistols at his sides. He dashed off towards the docking station thinking to himself.

_Why should I trust him? Many turians may have been sacrificed just to bring me back… how is Nala? What is going to happen to her and Mira? Why must Shepard get himself into so much trouble…?_

His thoughts were interrupted as he made it to the airlock leading him to the small civilian shuttle. Maleon was already inside the shuttle, manning the controls so that they could take off. The other person, supposedly a member of the Normandy crew, was clad in Turian armour, Vindicator assault rifle grasped in two hands.

"Hey, I heard you just woke up, take a seat." Garrus nodded in appreciation and sat down in the co-pilot's seat, resting his assault rifle on his lap. Turning behind he saw the other Turian sit down on the floor, leaning against the wall of the shuttle. Oddly enough, the other Turian seemed to constantly looking at him. Garrus shook it out of his mind and turned back to face Maleon.

"Setting a course for Sephrion." He furiously tapped on the various controls, adjusted a couple of knobs before he gunned the engine. "It's going to be a long ride. You should really go talk to her." He jabbed a thumb back at the Turian. "The only reason why _she_ volunteered is because she said she wanted to see _you_."

EXODUS Station

"That… that looks like a lump of meat?" Miranda cupped her mouth with her hand to stop the nauseousness "Are you sure you revived it?" She pointed to the fetus that was suspended in a tank of artificial fluid that mimicked its natural counterpart.

"I assure you that she has resumed normal functions. The fetus is acting naturally as if it had never left the mother." The scientist brought Miranda into the next room which was filled with scientists working at several stations. "Since it is particularly hard to recreate the type of protein the fetus gets naturally from the mother, we strongly suggest we return her to her natural habitat as soon as possible, if you know what I mean."

"I concur. The message that I sent Commander Shepard has been replied. He is currently in trouble, again." Miranda rolled her eyes for added effect "However, a small team has been sent to rescue him. His yeoman only suggests that I contact him in three days from now."

"I see, I suppose we will be able to continue maintaining life support for 72 hours. It may be hard for the fetus to grow… but we will do our best."

"Good. I will notify you if there are any changes."

Space station Sephrion

"Alright, release him from the bacta tank." Azda stood with his hands held behind his back. Several scientist began to release the locks which were holding the hatch of tank in place. Green fluid which was once suspending Vido in the centre of the tank slowly drained out the bottom. Once all was drained, the tank locks unclasped with a loud hiss, allowing Vido to fall out of the tank. Supporting himself with his two hands on the floor, Vido blinked his eyes and shook his head, regaining his bearings as he got up from his previous kneeling position, breathing heavily all the way.

"Ah… Azda" Vido choked out some green phlegm and regurgitated all the fluid that he had inadvertently taken in. "Nice of you to let me join your little party."

With the support of Azda and another scientist, Vido walked weakly to the research lab where the Shadow Broker was working on Vido's suit. Azda pulled over a chair just as Vido slumped into it. "I'm sorry, I'm not in working condition right now. Maybe after some food?" Vido motioned at the scientist who quickly made his leave, running off in the direction of the mess hall.

"You're not here to work. The Shadow Broker offered to make something which would protect you if you need to leave the station."

"How very true." The Shadow Broker interjected. "I have made you and environmental suit which is adapted from Quarian design. I assure you it is working effectively and will have no-"

Vido waved his hand in the air silencing the Shadow Broker for a moment "I'm not wearing some stupid Quarian environment suit if that's what you're asking."

"But it is vital to your medical healthcare as your immune system is currently working at 20% strength as compared to a healthy human. While this facility may have sterile conditions, outside, one bacterial infection could prove fatal to you."

"I'm not wearing it." Vido answered back firmly "If that means I can't leave this station fine!" Vido had his eyes locked on the Shadow Broker as the Shadow Broker did the same. As if to break the tension, a mech unit strode into the room with a tray of food in his hands.

"Sir, your meal. And may I inform you that Commander Shepard and Engineer Tali'Zorah are currently being held on this station."

"I will fill him in thank you." Azda shooed the mech out "Sir, we managed to trick Commander Shepard into a trap by baiting him with Cerberus data." Vido put his elbows onto the table, listening intently "We need him so we can discuss the best plan of attack on the reapers."

"What! We need his help now? The reapers are a myth! What I want is to get back at Shepard and that no good son of a bitch Zaeed."

"Mr Santiago, I assure you the reaper's are as real as it can get. By far Shepard's team are the only known people capable of taking down a reaper, three to be precise. One at the Citadel, one by destroying its core, and a human reaper. We need to work _with _them not against them."

"Well fuck that, I've got a score to settle with him and nothing comes between me and getting payback for planning that dirty little surprise attack of his." Vido slammed his fist on the table, shaking the tray of half eaten food.

"I'm going to go talk to him." Vido jerked his chair backwards violently as he strode off toward the general direction of the prison blocks with new-found strength.


	34. Gun Point

**I bet'ya many people thought I abandoned this story. But I didn't, I'm here ain't I? With a brand new chapter. Personally I don't like leaving things halfway. Even the famous guy from Halo, Master Chief agrees.**

**I'm finishing the fight**

**Yea, I know what you're thinking, I sound super tacky. But whatever, new chapter's up :D**

Station Sephrion, Docking Bay 14

"Alright, here's how it goes. We go in, grab Shepard, get out, then we call the Normandy to bombard the station from orbit. All clear?" Maleon swiveled his chair around to face the two Turians. Both of them stared back at his and simply nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

"We want to do this quickly and silently so remember to put silencers on all your weapons."

Garrus checked both his pistols and ensured that the silencers were in place. Nala followed suit and started attaching a silencer onto her assault rifle.

"According to the scans, the computer detects two heat signatures just outside our ship. Most likely guards who need to clarify why we're here. I'll follow along to give both of you some heads up info about where the guards might be." Maleon got up from his chair and pulled his pistol out from under the control panel.

"All set? Let's go." Garrus got up from his seat and put his helmet on before walking over to the airlock.

Just as he exited the small shuttle, one of the two guards stopped him from continuing down the hallway.

"Halt. No unauthorized weapons are allowed on the ship." He pointed at the pistols hanging at Garrus' sides. "You will have to leave them on your shuttle unless you have authorized permission of any security chiefs."

"So," the guard stuck out his hand, palm upturned, "I have the right to confiscate you weapons."

Garrus immediately seized that opportunity. Lunging forward to grab the guard's arm and twist it, Garrus managed to spin the guard around so that his back faced him. With a quick kick at the knee joint, the guard fell face first to the floor in front of him. The other guard reacted quickly, reaching immediately for his side arm. But before he was able to do anything, Garrus swung his leg around, kicking the gun out of his hand, quickly followed by an elbow to the face. There was a loud crack as the nose of the guard was broken with such brute force and Garrus seized that moment to drive his knee into the guard's midsection.

As the second guard slumped unconsciously on the wall, Garrus turned his attention to the first guard. He was already up on his knees, trying to reach the gun that was in his reach. Just as he was about to grip the pistol, Garrus brought his boot down on his hand, break many bones and putting a face of agony and pain on the guard's face. Garrus quickly reached down to pick up the pistol. Deftly pulling the trigger, he shot the second thrice in the chest and emptied the rest into the first guard.

"Was that all necessary?" Nala walked up to Garrus and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sometimes, violence in needed to keep them down. We don't want them waking up later and raising an alarm."

"This doesn't seem like you anymore Garrus."

"War changes people. You work in C-Sec too, you know violence in necessary at times."

"I worked as an admin because I didn't approve of such violence."

"Okay, can we stop the intimate chat now? We have a human and a quarian to save." Maleon looted the bodies for compatible pistol clips and two keycards.

"Agreed, we'll talk about this later okay?" Nala gave Garrus an understanding look before catching up with Maleon.

The trio continued their way into the facility, taking the shortest route through the docking bay by weaving in between shuttles so as to avoid detection by other guards. The two guards that they killed were dumped into the cargo hold of their shuttle for the moment until they could dispose of them properly.

After a while Maleon held up his hand and motioned for them to take cover behind a nearby shuttle. He heard two guards talking nearby and thought it was best if they didn't move.

"Did you hear that?" The first guard asked the second. "Sounded like gunfire."

"Nah, you're hearing things. Must be one of those engine malfunctions again. You know those things splutter and clang a lot."

"Maybe. I think I'm gonna go take a lie down. It's time for the next shift anyway."

"Oh really? Then maybe I'll go too."

Maleon tapped Garrus on the shoulder to grab his attention before whispering to him.

"Let them pass or take them out? Your choice."

"Let them go. They'll be no threat."

Garrus broke free from his cover and made a dash toward a nearby cargo freighter. Hugging along its wall, he signaled the Nala and Maleon to follow him. It was not soon before they found a way out of the docking bay and into the main complex.

The entrance was guarded by two blue suns mercenaries who were armed to the teeth but, however, had their backs facing them. Maleon took a slight detour to download some valuable data off an adjacent terminal while Nala and Garrus took care of the guards. Nala crept up on the first guard, grabbing the guard's head firmly with her two hands before twisting it violently in a clockwise motion. Garrus decided that it would be better if he just held the mouth of the second guard shut while he plunged his combat knife into the weak material that connected the helmet to the body armour.

"Shepard's being held in the deluxe prison cells." Maleon read off his datapad as he walked back towards the group. "_Deluxe _prison cells. Didn't know such things existed."

"Is he alright? Do the logs show anything about who tortured him?" Garrus wiped his knife on a rag before sheathing it behind him.

"Only two people have went into the cell within the last 48 hours. I should think he is perfectly unharmed. Shortest path to the prison blocks is this way." Maleon pointed his free hand toward a long pathway before taking point.

After a few turns left and right, they came across a large patrol group. Garrus jumped into a couple of boxes to the left while Maleon and Nala took a few steps back, heading into a room to the right.

Using the headset that they brought along, Maleon tried to contact Garrus while Nala searched the room they were in. Nala had her assault rifle at ready as she rounded the bend leading to a roughly rectangular room, standing in shock as she took in the details.

Five pairs of eyes were turned on her and many others were still staring at their respective consoles. From what she concluded, this was some sort of operations centre, or and outpost. Using the fact that the guards were also shocked, Nala fired off a few controlled bursts of her assault rifle, downing two of the guards. That left two armed mercs to the left and one to the right. She disregarded the many admin officers at the desks as they were unarmed and was considered no threat to her.

The merc to her right was quick enough to pull out his side arm and wildly fired off his entire clip. The first few shots wend wide and created small punctures in the wall while the last three smacked dead on into her shields, draining them and leaving her vulnerable. Nala silently swore to herself and she sent a volley of five shots flying his was and sprayed the last guard with the rest of the ammo.

Odd, where did the last guard go? Nala thought to herself as she surveyed the carnage. Maybe he got killed in the cross fire, Nala concluded as she proceeded to think of a way to handle the others. Little did she know, the last guard had dropped to the floor and slowly crept up behind her during the brief firefight. With a strong hit across the back of her head, the guard drained her newly recharged shields and knocked her forward a bit, but not enough to knock her out. Thinking quickly, he threatened to shoot her.

Nala slowly placed her assault rifle down on the floor and raised her hands in the air. Most of the admin crew started smiling and one of them got up and walked to the intercom.

_Well that's blown it. Our cover's gone if he uses the intercom._

Nala thought about how big a risk it was to quickly reach for her pistol and shoot him. Too big, was the conclusion she came to. Even if she were to kill him, the guard would shoot her and would still call the intercom.

*Bang*

Nala wheeled around to see the guard stare at her with a look of death in his eyes before he dropped to his knees, blood trickling from his mouth. Before the guard dropped flat to the floor, Maleon fired another shot in an attempt to kill the person trying to use the intercom, but missed his head and ended up creating a wide hole through his hand. Nala turned back toward them and picked up her non-silenced pistol and fired the entire clip into the ceiling.

"Get onto the floor! Now!" She yelled. All complied without questioning as Maleon went up to the intercom and disabled it. With some help from Maleon, they eventually bound and gagged all 6 admin staff, including the one with an injured hand, which they eventually treated.

"Hey, I heard a gunshot. What did I miss?" Garrus strode in casually before stopping in his tracks as he took sight of the carnage.

"Crap happened." Nala started raiding the armoury box and tossed a few heat sinks to Garrus who instinctively caught them even though he was still shocked. Maleon took more ammo and a submachine gun if another incident like this happened.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell Maleon that the guards outside had left. That was when I heard gunfire coming from the radio channel. The guards mentioned some rumours about Vido paying a 'special visit' to Shepard. I say if we want to get to him, we better get there quick."

"Couldn't agree more myself." Nala loaded her pistol once again.

Once again, the three made their way down the hallways, bypassing patrol routes and taking maintenance tunnels as much as possible. However, they had to knockout one mechanic to chose the wrong time to be repairing a worn out pipe. They found themselves in a pantry as they ducked out of a guard's line of sight and to reconfirm their bearings.

"Ouch, you stepped on my foot!" Garrus complained as he set his assault rifle down at the side.

"Hey! This place ain't very large you know!" Nala retorted as Maleon leaned against the wall and activated a holographic map on his omnitool.

"We're going to get some alone time back on the Normandy after we haul ass, right?"

"Well, that depends…" Nala replied tactfully.

"On?"

"On whether we _get_ back or not."

Garrus rolled his eyes at her comment. "Always the skeptic. How's Mira doing?"

"Fine, picked up a few vulgarities from your pilot." His lover replied as if it were normal

"Remind me to kill Joker once we get back."

"_If_ we get back…" Nala said again, purposely this time.

"I'll be dead when my father finds out anyway."

"And why might that be?" Nala asked inquisitively. She didn't know much about Garrus' past even though saying that they were close was an understatement. Garrus usually refused to talk about that.

"Failing to make it as a Spectre and getting someone pregnant before marrying her ain't a good way to impress your folks."

"Can't help it about the first part, but the second isn't exactly true. According to _culture_ you did."

"I don't think my dad count's marking your mate as an official marriage."

"Ahem," Maleon coughed loudly as he closed the hologram.

"Our customs says it is."

"Hello!" Maleon said a bit louder this time.

"After some time, we lost that culture and follow today's practices. What happened that night,"

"Isn't something I want to know about!" Maleon yelled at them.

Both Garrus and Nala looked at him and stared blankly as if he was rudely interrupting their conversations.

"Maleon calling Garrus and Nala, Shepard's getting his ass whooped right now!"

"Oh, yes right." Garrus slung his assault rifle across his shoulder again. "Definitely need that alone time."

Shepard's cell

Shepard fully knew that Vido would barge in any moment, and he was right. Two armed guards opened the door to Shepard's cell as Vido walked in behind them.

"Do you mind? I was having a private conversation with my wife." Shepard gave him a smirk as he was pulled up from his chair and held with his arms behind his back.

"Commander Shepard, scourge of the universe, destroyer of most of my operations. Now we meet face to face."

"Darn, I thought I told the Alliance not to put 'scourge of the universe' in my title. All that red tape…" Shepard smiled even wider knowing the he successfully smart assed a major crime lord, someone almost as infamous as Al Capone himself.

"Shut up!" Vido slapped Shepard hard across the cheek, leaving a red mark and a frown.

"What do you want?"

"Many things!" Vido replied with a chuckle. "I want my squads of men back, I want to continue my operations without C-Sec tailing me, and I want you to suffer the consequences."

"Vido, you and I both know we can't stand physical torture. It's just mean. Plain mean, and I'm sure you're not as low down as that."

"What makes you think I will do such a thing," Vido walked over to Tali who was being pinned to the wall by two others. "I just don't know where to start."

"Hey! It's me you're after, not her. So leave her out of this."

"Just as I expected." Vido turned back to face Tali. "Personally I've never seen a quarian without a mask before. Sure I've killed some but I never bother about corpses." Vido proceeded to stroke Tali's cheek in a scandalous manner.

"Get your hands off me you dirty son of a bitch!" Tali shouted at him in her native language before spitting at his face. In the background, Shepard smiled lightly at Vido's humiliation.

"That better mean something nice." Vido pulled his gun out and fired a shot at Tali's feet, missing her toe by a mere centimeter. Angrier by the fact that he missed at point blank range, he flipped the gun around and hit her across the jaw with the butt of the gun.

With a snarl Shepard broke free of the guard's armlock and fueled with rage, flipped the guard over his shoulder headfirst into the table. He then lunged at Vido, but Vido successfully evaded slightly and Shepard ended up hitting Tali's assailant on the shoulder. Knowing that Vido might be too far a target, he decided the next best thing was the guards holding Tali down. Turning around, Shepard socked the now fazed guard in the jaw before grabbing his head and bringing down on his knee with a crack.

Vido took this moment to lunge at Shepard, ramming him into the wall face first. Tali tried to break free of the other guard's grip as there was only one now. Executing a back kick, Tali rammed her heel into his shin, causing him to reel back, clutching his lower left leg. Breaking free, Tali ran toward Vido with her arm stretched back, preparing a left hook, only to have her arm grabbed by another guard and went back to being pressed against the wall, this time her cheek contacting the cold metal wall.

While one of them restrained Tali, two managed to pin Shepard to the wall long enough for his adrenalin to run out. Vido dusted himself before walking back to Tali, cocking his pistol as he went along. Shepard could only turn his head away as Vido place the barrel at the back of her head.

Shepard was at the verge of tearing, and even the guards felt remorseful as no one should have to go through such psychological torture as the gunshot was heard.


	35. Hauling Ass

Normandy SR2

"Hey, I found a nuke in our cargo hold. Is that the biggest bomb we have?" Zaeed walked up to the cockpit, carrying the large bomb with his hands while the crew members tried their best to keep five meters away from him.

"Oh, no. I'm sure there's always something bigger." Joker replied without turning his chair around. "I mean, it's only a nuke isn't it?" He continued, words dripping with sarcasm.

"Good. Could ya help me load it into the shuttle?"

"Zaeed, we've talked about this before." Joker turned his chair around.

"AAAAHHHH." Joker almost jumped out of his chair. "You took it out of the safebox! We're all gonna die!"

"Relax, I haven't armed it yet."

"Taking it out of the box IS arming it you idiot!" Joker pushed himself away from the bomb and into the depths of his chair.

"Then help me bring it to the shuttle so I don't drop it." Zaeed insisted more firmly this time.

"Fine, fine. Just, grip it properly. For my sake."

Space Station Sephrion

"Hey, check your sights properly. We don't want to end up killing someone unnecessarily do we?" Maleon tapped Garrus again on his shoulder.

"I can't take the shot with you tapping me every ten seconds! Besides, a fight's going on so I don't want to risk it."

Before he could do anything, Nala pulled him away into a separate corridor. She pressed her hand against his mouth while putting a talon to her mouth, indicating for Garrus' silence. After a while she let go and risked a look around the corner.

"Three guards just ran toward the cell. I don't know what's going on, but it's not going to be pretty. You better take the shot, now!" Nala shoved Garrus back into their vantage point.

"I can't get a good shot like this, the guard is blocking my line of fire."

Garrus quickly went through what options he had. If the first shot didn't go through the first guard and kill Vido, he would shoot Tali and Shepard on spot. If he waited for the guard to move, both will still get shot. Garrus finally decided that he had to do something stupid. It was a risk he had to take, for if he failed, Tali, Shepard and him would die. But it was a risk Garrus was more than willing to take.

To him it wasn't just a 'goody-two-shoes' self sacrificial attitude. It was a choice he took to try his best to protect the friends that were with him till the end. Heck, he already sacrificed himself once to fend off the reaper. But in his books, what Shepard did for him could never be repaid. Sure Shepard saved his skin on several occasions, but what really mattered to him was that Shepard fixed him inside. Finally finding peace months after Sidonis' betrayal was the greatest thing Shepard could have done for him. He felt better knowing he gave Sidonis another chance. He didn't feel so guilty for the death of his men anymore.

And it was with that, Garrus made a split second decision. Throwing away his sniper rifle, Garrus ran forward while pulling out both his silenced and non-silenced pistols. With the silenced pistol in his left, he fired as accurately as he could at the guards that were along the corridor while his right hand held the pistol at his face, readying a shot for Vido. Shepard's cell was to the right but he couldn't risk going in to kill him, he would only have a split second to pass, or fail.

The moment in time finally came as everything seemed to come to a standstill. He was now running right in front of Shepard's cell, trying his best to halt but knew he would over shoot. He could see Tali being pressed hard against the wall as Vido had his pistol at her head, Shepard trying to break free from the grips of Vido's guards, but to no avail. Without thinking Garrus took the shot, and saw Shepard look away thinking Vido had fired.

Garrus ended up stopping some distance after the cell. Looking behind, he saw Nala and Maleon rounded the corner and bursting into Shepard's cell. In the cell all hell broke loose as some guards tried to return fire while some guards still held their captives pinned to the wall. The hole in Vido's forehead shocked the hell out of most of the mercs and left them prey to Nala's sudden assault rifle bursts.

Meanwhile, Maleon managed to get close enough to the guard who was grabbing Tali's arms and sprayed his submachine gun in his midsection. Tali managed to wrench her arms free, rubbing her wrists painfully after all that she went through.

Shepard used the guards' momentary loss of focus to trip the first one, making him fall flat on his face, before elbowing the second in the face. After a quick shove, Shepard was able to grab the second guard by the armour collar, slamming him back against the wall before delivering a left hook to his face. Turning around, he saw the first guard point a gun toward him only to have it shot out of his hand by an assault rifle burst.

Garrus fired his assault rifle with one hand and took out his combat knife with the second. After a little careful aiming, he flipped the knife around and threw it at the guard. The knife lodged itself in the guard's neck, causing him to make a gurgling sound of blood as he tried to breathe desperately.

"Who are you people?" Shepard asked, partially confused at who would show up just as Tali was about to be killed.

"People who owe you a favour." Maleon rechecked his guns before answering Shepard. "But now we have to go, before they send reinforcements."

"I agree. But first we need to head to their command centre. We need to get the Shadow Broker and Azda before we can leave. They're the only people on this station worth saving."

"I don't know who these people are," Maleon stopped to bring up the map of the space station on his omnitool "But I trust you would do the right thing."

Garrus handed Shepard one of his pistols while Nala tossed her shotgun over to Tali who caught it easily. After a brief moment of confirming their bearing, the group of five then headed off toward the Administrative sector of the space station.

Kodiak Shuttle

"Ah, just my luck. Nobody wanted to follow me." Zaeed ranted to the nuclear bomb that sat behind the pilot's chair. "I did say we would come back. Only a small chance we die!" He turned his chair back around to face the controls. The space station grew bigger as the Kodiak neared the docking bay. If the intel was right, Vido was at Shepard's holding cell right now. Just have to kill him, put the bomb on his body, and activate the damned thing.

As soon as he had docked, two guard immediately banged on the shuttle airlock. After the airlock cycled, they stepped in and immediately started questioning Zaeed.

"Scans show that you are carrying more than two kilograms of high explosives. Would you like to explain why?"

"Oh shut up!" Zaeed pulled his pistol and shot them both in the head quickly. "Let me do my job would ya." He then proceeded to carry the bomb out of the shuttle and into the main area. Most of the guards were already dead, as he noticed when he reached a guard checkpoint.

"Maybe Shepard's already safe, and Vido's already dead." Zaeed thought to himself as he trudged along the already blood stained hallways.

"Heh, maybe today's the day I finally get revenge." Zaeed smiled to himself as he approached Shepard's cell. Walking through all that carnage, he managed to find Vido's body, bleeding heavily from a wound to the head but still alive. There was an angry twisted look on Vido's face as he tried to crawl toward Zaeed.

"No need to get all excited, you'll get your present soon enough." Zaeed chuckled as he started arming the bomb.

Space Station Sephrion, Administrative Department

"You know, most of these people supported me." Shepard looked guiltily at another guard he killed, the one guarding the entrance to Azda's office.

"I'm sure that really explains why they were all trying to kill you." Garrus said sarcastically.

"They really believed me, all this crap about the reapers and all that. Until Vido came in. That shit faced bastard told them otherwise. They had to believe him, he was their leader after all. But now that he's dead, the second in command is actually someone I may just trust."

Shepard readied his pistol as he prepared to break down the door, just in case there were hostiles inside. Firing three times at the lock, he managed to disable it, allowing him to easily kick open the door.

"Lieutenant Azda," Shepard stared at a horribly shocked man and his horribly shocked friend, the Shadow Broker. "I need you to come with me."

"You, you're alive?" Azda asked in shock knowing how Vido meant revenge when he said revenge.

"Yeah, Vido's a real pushover." Garrus chimed in.

"So why do you need me to come with you? I could easily send aid to help fight the reapers when the time comes."

Nala leaned over and whispered to Garrus "Shepard was right. There are helpers amongst their ranks."

"Because," Shepard replied "From what I hear, the Normandy is preparing to bombard this space station, thinking that Vido is still here."

"But what about the others? With Vido out of the picture they person they follow is me. Just blowing the station up would waste hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. Lives that could be put to better good."

"Alright, I see your point. But we need to at least get them to head for the ships and escape pods. Knowing that Zaeed is most likely controlling things back in the Normandy, I see no mercy from him at all."

"Okay. Just give me a moment." Azda picked up the intercom and gave the order for all personal to abandon ship before packing a few important things into a backpack and slung it over one shoulder.

"I'm done. Let's go." Azda walked out of his office with the Shadow Broker following closely behind.

"Hold up a minute. I've just intercepted a message flagged as important." Maleon held up his hand to signal for them to stop.

_Sender: Zaeed Massani_

_The nuke has been armed. From what the clock says, I think it will go in five minutes. I don't know whether I'll have enough time to get the hell out of here, but whatever, the job's done. Vido's body will burn and vaporize. That's all that matters._

_Receiver: Normandy Control Panel_

"Zaeed just planted a nuke. We have five to reach the shuttle!" Maleon shouted as the entire group started running toward the docking bay. Halfway through they were stopped by a group of Vido loyalists.

"Hey, aren't you the guy we're supposed to kill?"

Shepard was about to give another silly answer when Azda interrupted. "Aren't you two supposed to be headed toward an escape pod?"

"Our last orders from Vido were to find and kill commander Shepard. And I believe this person is the one we're supposed to eliminate." The first guard said as they both drew their weapons and pointed them at Shepard.

"Vido is dead!" Azda shouted at them "Now run, the station's going to blow in five minutes!"

"That's just a lie. You're just trying to get us to leave. Others may fall for your tricks, but we won't."

Maleon shot a look over to Tali who almost instantly understood what he was trying to say. Without hesitation Tali lashed out and kicked the first guard in the stomach, causing him to double over and giving Tali a small timeframe to trip him to the ground. After he fell unceremoniously to the cold hard floor, Tali stepped hard on both his shins, breaking them and causing the guard to scream in pain. As for the second guard, Maleon shot him in both his feet before pushing him to the ground.

"So," Shepard walked up to both of them and squatted down to talk to them "If the bomb is a lie, I'm sure you won't be vaporized after five minutes." Shepard grinned to them before getting up and signaling for the rest to follow.

The rest of the journey was relatively smooth without any guards stopping them along the way as most of them were in the escape pods right now. Maleon led the way toward his civilian shuttle while checking the timer on the bomb via his omnitool.

"We have about one and a half minutes left! Hurry!"

"It's a little small don't you think." Shepard got a slight shock as he stepped into the small civilian vehicle.

"Find a way to fit. There's definitely no way we are all going to be able to sit down." Maleon told them as he started up the engines. "Shepard I need you to sit in the co-pilot."

"Come on, come on!" Maleon yelled at the engine "Damn, thirty seconds left."

The engines finally ignited and ignoring safety protocols, Maleon set the engines to full speed. However, they were not able to escape the shockwave of the nuke fast enough. After hearing a loud resounding explosion behind them, the shockwave rocking the entire ship, causing Maleon and Shepard to bang their foreheads on the control panel and all those standing in the back to fall down.

"Wow, that was close." Shepard looked at the rearview camera feed.

"Too close." Maleon chipped in. "Now all you have to do it put in the coordinates for the Normandy and we'll all be on our merry way."

"All right," Shepard wiped the blood tricking from his nose and leaned forward to key in the coordinates for the Normandy, still thinking about who his mysterious rescuers were.


	36. Miranda's Story

**My first POV style chapter**

**Sorry if I suck at this :(**

**Stuff in**_** italics **_**are specifically flashbacks**

**I also had a realization that Shepard isn't the main character's name :o **

Miranda's POV

It was about time the entire project was over. During the entire time I felt as if something was missing, maybe it was the haphazard crew? Doubt it. Most of my mission were with the Normandy after all. Looking out the window I can see the shape of the Normandy approaching slowly but steadily.

Maybe reading through pages of unread mail will take my mind off things. I switched on the shuttle's inbuilt computer and keyed in the password just after setting the ship on autopilot. Let's see now. Selling your property? Delete. 20% discount? Delete. 5 ways to upsize your manhood? Definitely delete. Who even falls for these sort of tricks anyway? Especially the third one.

The next few were reports on the Exodus project, mainly vital status updates. This makes me wonder, why did I even bother to help Shepard? The last I remembered, I was _jealous_ of him. Thanks to the Illusive Man's insistence on keeping the collector base, disregarding inhumanity ruled out it being a bargaining chip. Yet back at the research facility I mentioned that it was. Or was it a lie? To lure them into thinking that was what I had in mind?

The first time in years, confused at my own actions. The emptiness of space does nothing to help me find solace. It only makes me remember.

_Tuchanka, Grunt's rite of passage_

_I fired off two shots in quick succession, stopping a varren short of biting my leg off._

"_Couldn't they just let Grunt spar with someone?" I fired off the rest of my pistol clip, bringing down another varren with it. _

"_Hey, you volunteered." Shepard answered as he fired his assault rifle at the nearby varren and I heard the thud as it hit the floor._

_To be honest it was true, I had volunteered. Krogan rites and customs always intrigued me, especially since we had one on board the Normandy that kept going into a blood rage. I really admired Shepard, the way he dealt with people, his ability to naturally lead those around him, not to mention the physical ability that he was capable of. Recently I realized he started visiting the engine room particularly often and talking a lot with Tali. I always knew there was something between them ever since they met again on Freedom's Progress. It was like two long lost lovers finding each other again. I'm guessing my attempts to 'grab his attention' have failed, but hey, can't blame a girl for trying._

_That was when a sharp pain tore through my side. I was so caught up thinking about Shepard that I didn't realize the Varren had ambushed me from the left. I only had time to hit with my empty pistol as another pounced on me, knocking me to the ground. I groaned audibly as my head hit the ground with a thud. Looking up, I managed to grab the varren's mouth and stopped it from tearing through my neck. The head of the varren slowly blurred and I started to see double._

_I had to press on. The pain from the side wound was weakening me. My hands were starting to get weak and my legs were already numb. There was almost no hope. Until the varren flew off me from the impact of a sniper shot. I rubbed my head painfully as I smelt a strong sense of blood. Looking at my hand I could see thick viscous blood smudges along the sides. I must have injured my head during the fall. Darkness started to cloud my vision as I felt two strong, scaled arms pick me up from the ground and another pair of hands, human this time, gently applying medigel to my side._

So was that why I switched sides? I'm sure of it this time. Even though Shepard had different methods which neither I nor the Illusive Man approved of, I slowly realized it was just what I considered 'normal'. Eventually I found out what made him 'different' from Cerberus. He cared. He bothered about people's feelings. What was 'crew expandable' to Cerberus 'was leave no man behind' to Shepard. That was what defined him as a good leader. That was why people willingly follow him, because they know he will do good, make the right choice. That is why Tali is happily married to him now, because he saw the beauty behind the mask even though she was highly discriminated against.

But now I'm stuck with another problem on my hands. Suddenly revealing the Exodus project might be either a too great a shock to Shepard and Tali or they might treat it as some sort of sick joke. I suppose I'll have to reveal it to them in stages, but I know not everyone aboard the Normandy can keep a secret.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

Ugh, what is wrong with these standard issue Cerberus shuttles? I activated the manual control and reviewed the radar. Apparently there was a large entity flagged to be under the Blue Suns' control in between my shuttle and the Normandy. Hm, considering the Normandy is there maybe Shepard's on a conference trip, recruiting the Blue Suns?

Reactivating the autopilot, I went back to reading through the last few of my unread messages. These particularly caught my attention. They were intercepted from an Alliance outpost in the outer rim when it was sending a message to Alliance Command two days ago. I find it particularly surprising they had not sent it to the Normandy just yet since the information regards biological signatures approaching the checkpoint.

Interesting, the data collected from the biological signatures are stated as 'unknown' even though the only thing that can have such huge a mass is a reaper. Ugh, don't tell me the council is still trying to suppress information regarding the reapers.

"Ahhh!" I let out a cry just as the entire shuttle flipped over and I was thrown out of my chair. Ignoring the cut on my lips I desperately tried to find a handhold. I finally managed to grab the arm on the pilot's chair and pulled myself up before scrambling to hail the Normandy.

"Cerberus Shuttle to the Normandy. Joker, can you read me?" I desperately called out, hoping that the communications weren't fried in the blast.

"Hey! Miranda! How are you? We've been doing fine. The ship seems a little nicer and a little less bitchy without you."

"This is no time for jokes! There was an explosion. What happened?"

"Oh, someone set off a nuke in the Blue Suns' base. No biggy."

Zaeed, had to be Zaeed. Who else would be desperate to nuke something that belonged to a merc company, especially the Blue Suns.

"Joker, my shuttle just flipped around as if it was dancing a jig."

"Hey, it's not my fault that-"

"Miss Lawson," EDI's voice replaced Joker's over the comm. channel. Thank goodness for EDI, if not I may have to listen to more of Joker's ranting. "A typical Cerberus transport shuttle is not equipped with such powerful shields. Furthermore, the Normandy has been upgraded with superior armour and shielding and would be able to survive such a shockwave, even at close range."

"Alright, thanks a lot EDI. One more thing, could you tell Jacob to meet me at the airlock."

"Miss Lawson, he is already at the airlock waiting your arrival."

Now that the easy part was over, time to get to the hard part, steering clear of the debris. And personal note to self, kill Joker when I get back to the Normandy. I deactivated autopilot to prevent the ship from driving itself into any large chunks of ex-spacestation. I needed to get the shuttle to the Normandy, which was I'll estimate, a good ten kilometers away without sustaining any hull damage.

The big pieces were what threatened the shuttle the most. Most of the smaller debris just bounced off the glimmering shield, but even the shield was depleting. I kept my eye on a relatively large piece of rubble coming straight toward me as I commanded the shuttle to strafe left. Oh come on, move! I slammed my fist on the controls only to realize a piece of debris must have severed the connection. Crap!

I quickly initialized the last resort protocol on the shuttle and a joystick revealed itself where the control panel was. Grabbing on to it I quickly jammed it all the way to the left and the manual thrusters began pushing the shuttle away from the piece of debris. I felt the floor shake beneath my feet as it scraped along the hull of the shuttle.

"Joker to Miranda, can you read me?"

"Yes what is it Joker?" I was starting to get annoyed by his constant chatter.

"Your port side engine is on fire. "

Shit. What a waste of effort if I maneuvered out of the debris field only to have my ship explode. I spared a quick glance at the distance counter, only three more kilometers. Man I really have to give Joker some credit over here. This flying thing is really a hard job.

"I'm dumping fuel. Hopefully momentum will carry my shuttle long enough so that I can dock with the Normandy." I pulled the lever on the right of the joystick and dumped the fuel until the thirty percent mark. As a small shuttle, it made more sense to still use jet engines instead of a mass effect core. Although if anybody asked me jet engines are ancient and tend to, blow up unexpectedly.

Heck, jet engines shouldn't even be allowed to be in production anymore. But hey, I'm stuck with this, so I have to make the best out of it. On the plus side, if power ever gets cut, the engines would still work since they consume fuel directly.

And that was when I least expected it. The port side engine blew up, rocking the entire shuttle and flinging me to the floor, again. This is almost as bad as when we escaped the collector base.

_Collector Base, centre of the universe_

"_Go, go, go! Hurry up!" I shouted as I fired my submachine gun into a nearby collector who was taking aim at Doctor Chakwas. Why in the world was I given this job? An escort to the captured crew, Grunt could have easily done that. But then again, Shepard needed Grunt for the final mission so I had no choice._

"_Thanks a lot for helping us get here." Kelly looked at me thankfully._

"_Don't thank me, thank Shepard. Now go, we need to get to Shepard in time before he sets the explosives." I ushered her in before going in myself and hitting the button to pull up the cargo ramp._

"_Joker," I pressed on my headset communications "Joker, come in"_

"_Joker here," He actually sounded serious for once. _

"_All on board, ready for take off."_

"_Copy that, engines initializing"_

"_Hey Joker, thanks. For all those times you got us out of shit when we most needed it."_

"_Yeah, no problem. It's my job ya know. A bit funny coming from you though, being the bitchy criticizing one, but whatever. No prob."_

_Once again I was able to witness Joker's supreme driving skills as he maneuvered out through the falling debris after the human reaper fell. And again, although I fell down painfully, he managed to gun the engines in time to escape the explosion of the charge that Shepard set. I rubbed my back painfully as I looked out the window of the cargo hold, realizing how close I came to being part of a shipwreck._

Cerberus Shuttle

"Joker, I'm going to abandon ship."

"What!"

"You heard me. This thing isn't going to last any longer. If I'm lucky the explosion of the ship would propel me toward the Normandy."

I checked the distance read-out again. Five hundred meters. Not too far. I quickly grabbed all the essential things. Computer, memory chip, logs of the Exodus project. I walked up toward the back wall and keyed my personal pass code and the wall flipped over, allowing me to put on my space suit. I checked the shuttle one more time, making sure there was nothing important that I missed.

I tapped my headset once and began informing Joker about my plans.

"Joker, tune in to this new frequency."

"Miranda, what the hell are you trying to do!"

"Get people ready to pull me in. This stock Cerberus suit doesn't come with thrusters."

I looked at the computer read-outs again. I'm two hundred meters away and the engine's critical. Perfect. I pressed the airlock on the far side and slid the door open. Air pressure immediately sucked me out of the shuttle along with my backpack that was slung over my shoulder. Now I was directly facing the Normandy.

Without even knowing it, I was slung forward, traveling and unknown speeds toward the Normandy. It was only after I crashed into the hull near the airlock did I hear the loud boom that was created from the explosion. Ahh, it was getting difficult to breath. I checked the suit systems via my omnitool. Crap, oxygen tanks were ruptured during impact.

"Joker," I struggled to keep myself conscious.

"Miranda I just saw that thing explode! Where are you now? Not picking you up on radar."

Ugh, so this was how Shepard felt, stranded in space with no oxygen whatsoever.

"Normandy!" I tried to force my breath out "Port side airlock!"

Darkness was creeping up on the edges of my vision. I closed my eyes briefly and slowed my breathing. Hopefully that would help.

"Miranda, are you alright?"

I couldn't reply even if I wanted to. My legs were feeling numb and all I needed to do was to try and remain conscious. If I could. Now I can't breathe at all. That was it.

"Jacob! Something's happened to Miranda. Get your suit on, now."

Two Days later, Normandy SR2

Here I am now, alive thanks to Joker and Jacob's quick thinking. But the original problem is still on my hands. How to tell Shepard.

"Miranda. I hope you're doing better." Shepard was leaning by the doorway.

Talk about humorous sense of timing. He sat himself down on the chair opposite me and looked me seriously in the eye.

"I talked to The Illusive Man yesterday, while you were still out cold in med bay."

He placed his elbows on the table as he laced his fingers together.

"There are some, _issues_, I need to discuss."

* * *

**One more thing, I seriously am in the middle of a, wouldn't call it moral, dilemma. Should Tali call Shepard "Shepard"? or his first name "Alex". What about the others?**


	37. Political Backdraft

**There's a gap in time, I know. It's intentional**

**The last chapter's present is meant as this chapter's flashback. Think of it this way.**

**On other news, with the Shadow Broker DLC my story has been proved wrong (See chapters 35,36) but I will continue to take it as if SB is quarian and the DLC never existed :D**

Normandy SR2, two months ago

"Is this some kind of sick joke!" Shepard slammed the table, startling Miranda a bit.

"This isn't a joke Shepard, it's as real as it gets."

"The Illusive Man told me about it."

"The Illusive Man can go to hell! He didn't approve of it. I pulled strings to help you Shepard!" Miranda accessed the file of denial by TIM and turned the screen over for Shepard to see. "It was on my initiative, and by mine alone."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Shepard rubbed his temples painfully "Give me some time to think about it. Ask some friends."

"_A second chance at life" – Kelly_

"_You should be happy!" – Garrus_

"_An opportunity you don't get often." – Thane_

"_Cherish what you are given now, before you regret later." – Samara_

"_Hmph. Just accept it." – Grunt_

"_Heck, be happy for yourself." – Jack_

"_Interesting concept considering lack of possible DNA" – Mordin_

"_Don't keep asking 'why' Shepard, just be thankful." – Kasumi_

"_I don't know, as far as the records I can access there are no hidden strings, personal agendas behind this one." – Jacob_

"_Endorphin levels will reach 95% if Shepard-Commander takes up the giver offer." – Legion_

"_Whatever makes you happy. Either way I still fly the ship." – Joker_

"_Unable to generate appropriate advice." – EDI_

"_Take it Shepard, trust me. I know it's too good to believe, but I'm sure she did it in good faith. Please, for me, for us!" – Tali_

Shepard walked back into Miranda's office and sat down, head in his hands.

"So? I'm guessing you've thought it through?"

"I don't know Miranda, I don't know."

"You'll have to choose." She leaned over and placed a reassuring hand over his shoulder before letting go.

"You accept and we'll carry out procedures immediately. Reject, and I'm sorry but we will immediately terminate the project.

Normandy SR2, Present Day

"I can't believe there was a time when I actually thought Miranda was pulling a prank on us!" Shepard looked out of the window, enjoying the view of the Presidium lake.

"I remember you banging the table and calling it a 'sick joke'." Tali walked up behind him and curled her arms around his, leaning on him slightly.

"Hey, knowing Cerberus anything could be possible at that point of time. Even I thought reviving me was the sickest joke they could ever pull."

Tali's face visibly saddened when Shepard chuckled about that. He noticed it quickly as keeping quiet for Tali meant something wasn't right.

"You alright?" Shepard lifted her chin to face her directly.

"I'm fine. I just, don't want to think about losing you again."

"Okay, touchy subject. Let's move on to something else."

"It was nice of Anderson to let us use this apartment." Tali quickly moved away, taking a nice look around the room, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, sure is. We'll be staying here for quite a while. With all the reports of reaper sightings they thought it would be better for public morale if we were here when reapers attack the Citadel. Prevents people from thinking I ditched them."

"If they attack the Citadel you mean."

"Huh?" Shepard gave Tali a slightly puzzled look "Don't the reapers _always_ attack the Citadel."

"I don't know… if I were a reaper, I would come after you first." Tali gave a wide grin. "I mean, you do have this knack for making enemies."

"Hey! You take that back!" Shepard laughed while chasing Tali around the room. Eventually Tali was cornered as she fell backwards onto the bed. However, she immediately held up her hand. "Not the best time to play rough. Maybe in two three months time." Tali put on her serious face even thought she knew Shepard couldn't see through the mask.

"Yeah, I almost forgot." Shepard sat down next to her instead. "But Mordin didn't say anything about tickling!" Shepard turned to face her and started tickling her sides, causing her to squirm and laugh at the same time. Well, until Garrus decided to intervene.

"Ugh," Garrus put a hand to his face "Childish much?"

"Garrus, hi." Shepard gave him a funny look. "Sorry, still can't get over the cyborg part of you."

"Council wants a 'round table' talk. Most of the race reps are there already. You better come now."

"Alright," Shepard hopped off the bed and followed Garrus. "I'll see you later." Shepard took one last look at Tali before closing the door behind him.

"So, having a good time with Nala?" Shepard tried to break the awkward silence between them.

"Shepard, please. You sound like joker."

"Hey, can't blame me for making sure my crew's happy. Speaking of which, most of the crew is on shore leave. Jacob and Kasumi are going to the market district-"

"Wait, Jacob and Kasumi?" Garrus threw Shepard a very puzzled look. "Since when does Jacob or Kasumi care about shopping?"

"Well, put it this way, Kasumi was hoping Jacob liked Japanese girls who have penchant for kleptomania."

"Moving on…"

"The rest are scattered around the Citadel but I told them to keep close to the presidium in case something happens. You know anything about the delegates?"

"Only a few. Thane is there representing the drell. Mordin's there too. Our old friend Liara will be there as well. Apparently Liara has been doing her own research about the reapers. Found out some quite interesting things. And, I'm a delegate too."

"You? I didn't think they'll let a Vigilante to this sort of thing."

"Politics were never my interest. But hey, I'm _the _vigilante who helped saved the galaxy. Anyway, we're here."

Garrus knocked twice before swiping his keycard against the electronic lock. After getting a nice green light, he pushed open the door and led Shepard into the meeting room. Brightly lit, there was a round table in the center. Thane, Urdnot Wreav and Shala'Raan were already at their seats, waiting for the meeting to start. Liara was at a separate desk, sorting through various stacks of notes and experimental reports.

"I'm quite surprised Tali isn't here. Considering her experience with reapers and all."

"Mordin said it's best we not do that. Politics can get ugly, and fast."

Shepard took his seat next to Thane who greeted him with a nod. Liara sat opposite Shepard and gave him a lopsided smile as she continued to organize her notes into separate piles. It was not long before the council, followed by Anderson, walked into the room. Greetings were exchange, so were smiles despite a certain sense of ominous atmosphere. Just as the Council members were taking their seats, Miranda and Legion came into the room.

"Now that we are all here, we can start the discussion." The Salarian started. "Firstly, we have the issue of numerous occurrences of reaper bio-signs. Many of them picked up by long range scanners onboard ships that we deployed at the outer rim. As stated in the report that Miss Lawson has sent us, we are currently investigating as to why the reports were not sent to us directly."

"That aside, it is now time for the regular reports by the delegates of the various races."

"Hah, you will like this." Wreav got up from his chair to better face his 'audience'. "Even though there are those who disapprove, the Krogan clans have decided to put our wars aside to face the reapers. We are now making more weapons of war than ever." He concluded with a wide grin.

"And what of those who disapprove?" The Turian council member asked.

"They have already been executed." Wreav sat down and smiled again.

"Crude and naïve, but at least there won't be any problems later on." Miranda commented.

"Continue," The Salarian spoke again.

"The Drell fleet is at your disposal." Thane said coolly.

"Do you have any further details? Number of ships? Where are they stationed."

"I am currently unaware of the number of ships that we possess. However most of them are Type-F Cruisers and some Type-B Destroyers. A fleet of ten ships are on its way toward the Citadel as we speak."

"Thank you. Now we move on to the next item in our agenda. Cerberus' involvement in this effort." The Asari council member spoke this time. "Miranda, if you could shed some light on this issue?"

"First off I'm not very involved with Cerberus work anymore. After operation Exodus I have severed most of my ties with the Illusive man. He is still set out to stop the reapers however I already do not expect him to defend more than the Citadel and Earth."

"Still the human-defending sort is he?" Wreav leaned forward.

"Yes, I'm afraid he is. Now, would you like to share about your findings Dr. T'Soni and Dr. Solus?" Miranda gestured

Liara got up from her seat and walked over to desk, picking out relevant notes and putting them with the ones she was carrying while Mordin tapped his omnitool, bringing up a holographic model of a reaper.

"Most of the research we did mainly pertained to reaper biology and not so much the military aspect. But I'm sure we'll be able to exploit their weaknesses well once we know them."

"A reaper functions as a whole, and like us, having many 'organs' as we would put it, that do various jobs to keep the reaper running. The mass effect core is somewhat the heart, and without it the reaper would fail to function. Its equivalent of a brain is its intelligence core. Although inbuilt with many codes and signals are sent in the forms of data, a reaper is still able to adapt and think on its own, very much like an AI, but with eons of information."

Mordin tapped more on his omnitool and the hologram zoomed into the lower part of the reaper.

"The reaper has a sort of 'immune system'. It kills foreign individuals, which is usually intruding scientists, by sending husks in place of the human equivalent of white blood cells. The husks are stored in the walls and floors of the inside of the reaper, waiting for orders to strike."

"It is also important to note we have not yet come to the conclusion of how these husks are made and how they function." Mordin pointed out, preventing a raised hand or two.

"Thank you for pointing that out Dr. Solus. The reaper is also armed with shields, which we have found out can only be controlled by the reaper itself. Thus we have to either take it out by force or infiltrate it and take out the mass effect or intelligence core. Interestingly enough, the ratio of a reaper's armour to volume ration is equivalent to that of a Krogan. Meaning that even for something that size it has very thick armour."

"May I know," Miranda clasped her hands and leaned on them, "How did you get all these information."

"Firstly, the protheans left behind a vast database of what information they collected themselves. I managed to decode their information and with help with Doctor Solus, who has experience with reapers firsthand, we managed to put together this current database of information."

"Now I would like to hand the time over to Dr. Solus who has some updates on the impending reaper attack."

"Thank you very much Dr. T'soni. If you were to take a look at the diagram here," Mordin changed the hologram from the reaper to a diagram of the Milky Way "The reaper's estimated position based on the reports, given the time between then and now, would be here." Mordin marked out a spot on the diagram just slightly out of the Milky Way."

"Professor, if I may." The Asari council member interrupted "Are you trying to say that the reapers have almost concluded their journey through dark space and are entering the galaxy?"

"Yes, I am. It is a cause of worry but knowing that much preparation has taken place and much research has been done, we have a fighting chance."

"Commander Shepard, do you have anything to add?" The Asari gestured at Shepard.

"The Normandy and its crew will be there to help, always."

"Alright, if there is nothing else, this meeting is concluded." The Salarian council member spoke up.

Slowly, people started packing up the notes they had taken and left their seats. Shepard was already walking down the hallway when Garrus caught up with him.

"You were quite quiet back there. Everything alright?"

"Garrus, you've been my best friend for so long I can't remember." Shepard stopped walking and looked at Garrus "But have you done anything you later regret. Something you thought was good but shit came up and you know things are gonna get all screwed up."

"Shepard, what are you trying to say?"

"Sometimes I just regret agreeing to project Exodus. What's the point in bringing somebody up in a galaxy that may just implode any moment?"

"I thought you were the one who kept saying you were a fool to even consider turning it down?"

"I don't know!" Shepard turned around and punched the wall hard, resting his forehead against the wall "I just say that to comfort myself, make myself think I'm doing the right thing! I don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore."

Garrus walked up to him and put an arm around his shoulder "Shepard, calm down. How many times have things turned out better than you expected. Sometimes you just don't know what going to happen but you have to make the best out of it."

"I'm afraid. I don't want to let people down. They all expect me to win. But what if I don't? I'm not going to let Tali down again. What am I going to say to my daughter? 'I'm sorry daddy's a failure but I have to go on a fatal mission, don't wait for me.'" Shepard sobbed slightly. "People think I'm a hero just because I do what they don't. And now they expect me to carry the weight of the galaxy on my shoulders."

"You're not doing it alone. The Normandy's here for you. I'm here for you. Tali's here for you."

"I don't know. I'm just, tired of failing, scared of failing. If I fail, the whole galaxy is screwed."

"Calm down. Go to a quiet place alone, think about it. Just remember, you're not doing it alone." Garrus let go of Shepard and walked away, leaving him in the hallway to think things through.

* * *

**I will continue to let other chars call Shepard 'Shepard' but Tali will call him by his first name. Come to think of it, who calls his/her spouse by the first name? That and Shepard doesn't call Tali 'Zorah' but Tali.**


	38. Falling Into Forver

Presidium Apartment Complex

"For the last time Tali, I don't know where Shepard is!" Garrus sighed again "What makes you think I keep track of his every move?"

"You said you were the last to talk to him!" Tali retorted angrily

"Look, that was more than three hours ago. I don't expect him to sit in the same corridor for more than three hours, do you?"

Tali paused for a moment, knowing that Garrus was right. It had already been a long time since Garrus talked to Shepard.

"It's a pity Rosa left. She had a knack for tracking down people. Maybe you could ask Kasumi, or Joker. Some of the other crew members who just came back may have seen Shepard on the way back."

"Fine. I'll go ask them." Tali walked off hurriedly toward the apartment lounge.

Local Bar, Shepard's POV

I resisted the strong urge to keep my eyes close as I blinked painfully a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the light. From what I can tell I'm in some sort of bar, even though I have no recollection of even coming here. The lack of cups in front of me proves I didn't knock myself drunk.

"Hi, can I get you something?" An Asari waitress walks over to me as I rub my eyes. I needed to find out where I am.

"Sorry, how long have I been sleeping here?"

I watch the Asari give me a very puzzled and confused look as if I was speaking in an alien language. She scratched her head once and looks at me dumbly again.

"Excuse me?" She finally answered "You just sat down here. You walked through those doors just half a minute ago."

That was strange. I could have sworn I was here. I was asleep on the bar for goodness sake! Maybe the stress is getting to me. Should I just order a drink and relax? Or find a better place to think about things.

"Sorry, I'm not feeling too well. I'll just have a soda." I ordered the drink which had the least alcohol content. In my current state I think being drunk would just make things worse.

This entire situation is getting weirder by the minute. Maybe I should put the thing together piece by piece. I remember leaving the apartment complex very soon after Garrus talked to me. Where did I go next? I certainly didn't come to this place immediately. Think! Think! Think! Where did I go? It certainly wasn't the market section. Ah yes! I went to the presidium garden to relax. But why did I leave that place?

_In an instant, the grass which I was standing on reduced to nothing but ashes, and the branches that were entangling me caught up in flames. It was almost as if death itself took ownership of the place. The flowers withered and died within a second, right before my eyes. A woman nearby fell to her knees as her body changed from one that was young to that of an old person before hitting the ground as a skeleton. I couldn't take it anymore! This has to stop. I have to leave this place. Anywhere! Anywhere is better than here. I ran back toward where I can from, following the path, hoping it would take me back to the presidium. I saw a landmark ahead. It was almost like salvation, seeing the entrance statue. But as I approached it, I realized it was the memorial statue where I started._

Ah yes, the entire garden was haunted. To me at least. I should go see a doctor some time soon. This can't be allowed to go on any further. I'm sure Tali would be worried about me. Tali. No, I mustn't let her down. She can't know about my problem. The clock on the wall says it has been three hours since I left the presidium grounds. Tali must have tried to look for me. Knowing her she would have contacted many people to find out where I am. Too bad I didn't bring my omnitool out. A moment later the waitress came back with my drink. Hmm, wasn't the waitress an Asari? Now she's an Elcor! Within another few blinks she changed to become a Turian.

I gulped down most of my drink, trying to make an effort to leave this place and go back as soon as possible. Back on the Normandy or at the apartments I could get help immediately if I need it. Tali would be there for me. But she has always been there for me. And all I do is let her down. I clutched my glass so angrily that a visible crack appeared along the edge.

"Hey there, you look like you could do with a little relaxing." A voice of a teenage girl broke my train of thoughts. I turned to look at her slip up on to a chair next to me. "Want to dance?"

"No. Please, leave me alone."

Within an instant, the entire bar had vanished and I found myself in the heart of the Collector base, fending off Collectors as we tried to plant the charge on the core.

"You will do as I tell you!" The young girl had turned into a Harbinger-possessed collector and sent a singularity towards me, knocking me off my feet as I hit my head against the floor. After a brief moment of darkness I woke up to find myself on the cold floor of the bar with the young girl looking at me.

"Hey, dude. Are you okay? You just fell of the chair as if someone pushed you."

I rubbed my head painfully as I grabbed on to the girl's hand and she helped me up.

"So, err, what just happened back there? It kinda freaked me out a little."

My temples were pulsing and I naturally rubbed them, in hopes of rubbing my headache away. All the noise, it was making my headache worse. There were voices in my head. Unbearable pain inside of me. The voice, it kept telling me to be afraid. To be afraid. But who? Afraid of what? Why should I be? So many questions, too little answers. All these flashbacks, or hallucinations? What do they mean!

"Hello! Don't zone out on me again."

"I'm sorry I'm just, really not feeling well."

"Oh. Is there anything I can help you with? I can get you a glass of water. That is, if you want."

"No, it's fine. There's just a voice in my head saying that I should be afraid. It's killing me inside."

"Yes," The scene flipped back to the Collector base "You should be afraid!" The same Harbinger-possessed collector hissed. I looked around, trying to find anything I could use as a weapon. Suddenly Legion ran towards me, firing his pistol at the Collector's legs, releasing a high scream as it fell to the floor and Harbinger released its control. But Legion was quickly gunned down and he fell to the floor. Another collector came over to me and kicked me in the head, effectively knocking me out.

I was once again in the darkness. I was neither here nor there. I felt no pain. There wasn't any wounds on my head, or bullet marks on my arm. I was in my civvy, with only my pistol holstered by my side. Where was I?

"You should be afraid."

There was that voice again. Telling me to be afraid! Afraid of what? I ask myself again. I wasn't afraid of death, was I? What am I afraid of?

"Are you really not afraid of anything? Is there nothing that troubles you? What do you hold dearly? Are you not afraid of losing what you so love and cherish? Are you not afraid of failure?"

"Shut up! Leave me alone whoever you are!"

But it didn't end there. I was not so lucky.

"Are you not afraid of letting your people down? What would others think of humanity? I know who you are Shepard. You have fears, you have worries."

It was true. This thing, whatever monstrosity it is, was toying with me, playing mind games, fucking with my sanity. But what are its intentions? Why is it doing so? I must be a threat to it if he would want to take me out so badly. Why? Who? What?

"Are you not afraid of losing her. The one you love. Physical pain can only go so far, but emotional pain. Alas, not everyone can take that. Are you one of those? Or will you fall at the sight of losing the ones you love?"

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"Shepard! Don't you see! It's not about what I want." The voice stopped for a moment. "It's about what you want. I just want to make you happy." The voice suddenly changed to one all so familiar. Tali. "Remember Shepard, not everything is about fun and games." Garrus. "Shepard! Don't leave me to die out here!" Joker.

"You're just playing with me. I'm not taking part in your stupid games!" I retorted angrily.

"But you already have."

Tali, Garrus, Joker and many others materialized in front of me, all in a line.

"Don't let us die like this!" Garrus shouted at me. I tried to move, but I couldn't. I had no control over my own body. No matter how I tried I couldn't help them. A sniper shot rang out and Joker's body spun before hitting the floor with a thud, a pool of blood forming around his chest. I gasped in horror at what just happened. Another shot rang out and Garrus staggered backward before falling flat on his back. Another shot, Thane clutched his chest and looked at me, pleading for me to help as he fell to his knees and eventually flat onto the floor, lying on his front.

"No! Stop this. Stop this now!"

"You know what I am capable of. I can destroy everything you know, everything to hold, everything you have. You are not perfect like what they think you are. You are nothing more, nothing less, than just a human."

I woke up to find two collectors dragging me off the battlefield towards the processing chambers. There were other humans here too, but none that I could recognize. Was I destined to be like this? But didn't I just blow up this place? Does that mean that the collectors are back? Do they have a second base? I leaned my head back onto the back of the pod. I suppose there is nothing I can do anymore. I should just sleep. Get some rest before I die. But what would the point be? I just suddenly feel so sleepy. I suppose I shouldn't resist it.

Presidium apartment lounge

The lounge was surprising crowded considering the fact that it was still in the early afternoon. The two main engineers were seated next to each other at the bar, chatting away as they enjoyed each other's company. Thane was sitting at a table, alone, thinking about the past day's events. Tali slowly walked through the lounge, wondering who would be the best person to ask regarding this matter. Kasumi was still out, Rosa had left, and Grunt was busy fighting in a local arena.

Tali was walking toward the exit as she passed by Samara who was coming into the lounge. A thought sparked in her mind.

"Samara, can you track someone using your biotics?"

"Of course. That is what I have been using to try and track down you and Shepard two months ago."

"Could you help me track down Shepard? He seems to have gone missing after Garrus talked to him. Work stress he presumes."

"That is not a problem young one. May we proceed to your room? It is easier to concentrate in a quiet place."

"Okay. And what's with 'young one'?"

"Considering I am hundreds of years old you count as very young to me."

"Alright… let's try to focus on the matter at hand."

"Very well."

Once they were in the room, Samara sat herself down at the window cross legged as a blue glow started to engulf her.

"I sense Shepard through the darkness. But I am unable to pin point his location. There is another one. Another, being, purposely making its presence known to Shepard."

"What it is?"

"I do not know. But I can sense its intentions, it seeks to harm. It is of a great evil yet not taking a physical being. It is merely a phantom."

"Samara, why does all this sound so scary?"

"In truth it is not. It is just a being taking a role that is not of our dimension, just pure energy." Samara released the blue glow and opened her eyes.

"But the creature is powerful, and will ill intent in its heart. I am sure he knows that I sensed it."

And all of a sudden Samara was thrown back by an unseen force, slamming against the wall before dropping down on her knees and hands.

"_You are wise old one. But are you wise enough."_

"It knows what I'm trying to do. I suggest you get to Shepard quickly."

"What just happened! You just got flung across the room yet you still calmly say I should get to Shepard!"

"You do not understand. This being, its power is unimaginable to you."

"And why! Why would I not understand?" Tali was cut off my Samara putting her hands on her shoulders.

"Because, you do not have my experience in biotics. It can feel me, feel you. It knows very well what we are trying to do. I can sense it toying with Shepard but you cannot. You just have to trust me."

"You said it knows we are here, how? Is it another person?"

"I cannot tell its location. It is something we have never faced before. As for Shepard, it is concealing his location. The only way to find him is physically as it is, jamming my powers so as to speak."

"Alright, maybe we should head to the Normandy. A scan should be able to find him."

Without haste the two left the apartment and headed toward the docks.

"_Your efforts are worthless. You will not be able to find him! Hahaha!"_

Tali stopped in her tracks just by the Normandy's docking bay.

"Samara did you hear that?"

"No."

"There was like this voice in my head, telling me that our efforts are worthless."

"It must be the being then. When we were in the apartment that was how it spoke to me. Since it is not a thing of this world the only way it can talk to us is through our minds. But do not lose heart, it is only trying to delude you."

"I'll just go with what you said. Come on, we have to find him."

Once inside, Tali immediately went to the cockpit, requesting Joker and EDI to authorize a scan of the local area. After passing security protocol the scan started and Tali waited nervously by the results console. The scan picked up many life signatures but none matched Shepard. Furious, Tali ran the scan again, but increasing the scan range.

Tali was once again waiting while Joker tapped her on the arm. Tali simply nodded for him to carry on while she stared at the results slowly come in.

"Tali I think you should see this."


	39. Undefined Discernment

"_I'm Emily Wong and we are here live at where Commander Shepard caused a major public disturbance. Earlier this afternoon C-Sec was called in to investigate and two officers had to subdue the former Spectre and put him behind bars until further notice."_

_The camera swerved over to a young girl sitting on a chair with her leg bandaged._

"_Can you tell me what happened?"_

"_Well, I was here with my friends, just hanging out. Then this guy comes in, I really didn't know he was Commander Shepard, and he sits down at the counter. I saw him acting a bit weird so I just went over to ask him if he wanted to dance."_

"_Can you define what you meant by him being weird? Was he drunk?"_

"_He wasn't drunk he was just, acting a bit out of person. After sitting down at the chair he asked the waitress how long he had been sleeping there."_

"Oh this is not good." Tali stood by Joker and watched the news from a screen in the Zakera wards.

"Shush, I want to listen to the rest of it!" Joker nudged Tali slightly.

"_Yeah, and then suddenly he just, flew out of his chair as if someone punched him."_

"_But nobody did?"_

"_No! No one. It just freaked me out. Then later he started yelling about the collectors or something like that and suddenly he just takes out his pistol and shoots me in the leg!"_

"_Did anyone else notice that?"_

"_Of course I screamed in pain and my friend came over. He managed to knock him to the floor and kick the gun away before helping me."_

"It must be the dark force at work. It is making him feel what is unreal to be real. It is possible it made the young innocent girl look like a collector in Shepard's eyes. There is nothing to worry about." Samara told Tali.

"Nothing to worry about? Sure, he just shot someone in the damn leg! Yeah, there's nothing to worry about."

"But there is nothing we can do now. If we try to get to Shepard the dark force may make him perceive us as an enemy. We need to keep him isolated."

"But what is this dark force? A reaper? Harbinger? Or is it some other badass thing better that Harbinger." Joker turned away from the screen to face Samara.

"I do not know, but my best guess would be a reaper. When we were near the 'derelict' reaper I sensed a similar force except that it was not strong enough to affect a man of such willpower."

"So, we're gonna need all the help we can get. I'll go get Mordin and Liara. Tali, go find Kasumi, you'll never know what tricks she has."

With a nod Tali took off toward the apartments as Samara followed her.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I am going to find Miranda. Shepard's problem may be linked to the Lazarus project, we do not know. But we cannot be sure."

"Alright sure, just get them to meet back at the Normandy."

Normandy SR2 meeting room.

"Hmm, interesting chain of events. Based on information by Garrus Shepard was facing work-stress prior to event. However, unlikely to be cause of hallucinations. Other factors maybe? Another being at work?"

"I don't know Mordin, wait 'till Samara comes. She mentioned something about 'the dark one' and an evil force. All that inter-dimensional crap, you know what I mean."

"Alright, point noted. Unable to see what Shepard saw, or thought, so I am unable to clarify what its purpose is. Going to need some time and data. Must find cause of hallucination, cure maybe?"

"Mordin, calm down. Let's wait for everyone before we decide what to do. At least C-Sec put him down for a while. May give us a few days to think." Joker leaned back in his chair and stretched his back while Miranda walked in closely followed by Samara.

"All right, everybody's here. Garrus, Kasumi, Thane and Miranda, do you know what's going on."

"Well all I know is that Shepard's in jail. For doing something bad." Garrus gave a smirk. He knew fully what was going on. He watched the interview.

Kasumi and Thane gave a simple 'no' and Miranda just shook her head. Pushing buttons on the table Joker played the interview by Emily Wong on a screen for the rest to see. The responses were mostly gasps, lack of words and other worried faces.

"Yeah okay. The things we need to do are to find a cause for this, obviously he wouldn't go shooting people like that. If you listen carefully the girl mentioned that Shepard said something about a collector. That narrows it down to hallucinations and insanity."

"Or a little bit of both." Kasumi added.

"Anyway, we also need to find a way to stop this from happening again. So, any suggestions?"

"Now that Samara is here, I must ask. Can you describe to the fullest of your ability what the 'dark being' as you call it is like?"

"Dr. Solus you must understand that being powerful, it hampered my abilities to seek it and thus I cannot tell you much except for the fact that its intentions are purely evil. I could not sense so much as a shred of good. I am sure this rules out a physical creature as I believe there is good and bad in everyone."

"I suppose we can safely conclude that a reaper is at work here." Thane cut in to make a suggestion.

"But still that does not explain why the reaper was able to control Shepard's feelings and thoughts, even his senses."

"Mordin I believe a certain mechanical genius down in the AI core has your answer. He did a study on it and sent the results to me." Miranda answered "He believed that it had something to do with the Lazarus project."

"Geth having sentient intelligence, intriguing. I wonder, what made him carry out such a study?"

"Mordin, can we get back to the task at hand?" Joker asked.

"Alright, I need to discuss this with Legion and possibly develop a countermeasure. However we now have the problem of subduing Shepard until a countermeasure is in place."

"He's right, C-Sec can't hold him forever. And knowing him he'll gun his way out eventually, which will be bad, very bad."

"And what do you suggest we do, Kasumi?"

"I don't know. Maybe request we keep him in the Normandy? Confine him to the ship until things clear up. If he's in the Normandy and there are people like Grunt and Garrus around he should be easy to contain."

"We'll do that once he's released. Since he already made a large disturbance I suggest we let C-Sec take care of him for a while. Is there anything else you guys want to add?"

"I suggest we notify the Council. Tell them that if this is happening, the reapers aren't far away. We best be prepared." Thane made his last comment before the meeting was closed. Miranda followed Mordin to go see Legion while Kasumi and Joker headed back to their posts. Samara went back to her room to meditate on the day's events while Garrus decided it would be good to visit Tali while Thane went to collect information regarding Shepard from C-Sec.

AI Core

Miranda was seated on a stack of crates, retrieving information and reports of the Lazarus project from her computer. Meanwhile, Legion was explaining to Mordin how the reapers' assimilation worked.

"On organics, the old machines would telepathically force the reality they want into the person's mind. Although the person may not feel the large difference and the force the old machine is exerting, after a while the person would notice that reality doesn't make sense. At this stage, the old machine's intended reality becomes the person's reality and he/she will no longer the world as it is, but as the old machine wants."

"That is why Sovereign chose to use geth as his tools instead of organics. As synthetics, us geth are easy to assimilate. All Sovereign needed to do was to rewrite our programming. Making it friendly and everything else hostile. These are now labeled 'heretic geth' by us."

"You know, Legion. I realized one thing." Miranda looked up from her computer. "You seem to be talking a lot more like a person and less like an AI."

"Geth are programmed to adapt to their surroundings. In this case I am adapting your form of speech."

"Anyway, I found the necessary files. You can explain Shepard's case to Mordin now."

"Because of the Lazarus project, Shepard is integrated with synthetic parts, more importantly, a microchip has been implanted in his brain. With this in place, a powerful enough old machine is able to rewrite the microchip implanted in his brain. But because he is still an organic, the change is only temporary, a possible explanation to his lapses in hallucinations as described by people."

Mordin nodded twice and organized his notes, tapping more buttons on his omnitool while thinking of a possible countermeasure.

"If the microchip is making him to susceptible to the assimilation, why don't we just remove it? It would save him a lot of pain, and save us a lot of trouble. It may remove the possibility of harming interspecies relationships."

"Interspecies relationships?" Miranda raised an eyebrow, listening to their conversation as she waited for the computer to finish processing all the necessary files. "What does this have to do with anything on the political level?"

"If these go uncontrolled Shepard may end up assaulting and or killing more people. If those people were Turians or Asari what would that say? Imagine the news headlines. 'Former Human Spectre assaults turian, kills two other.' Do you think that would have no impact. We were lucky the woman he shot was a human."

"Fine, maybe this can do a lot more damage than we think." Miranda sifted through the downloaded files. "Ah, here we go." She frowned as she read the data. "The microchip would have fused with his brain two months ago. Trying to take it out would be fatal. Either way we wouldn't want to do that. All his combat knowledge, everything he knows ever since the Lazarus project is all in there."

"Then Kasumi was right. Need to get Shepard back to the Normandy, keep an eye on him."

"Alright," Miranda turned off her computer and tucked it under one arm. "Let's go find Kasumi, see if she can help us bust in and drag Shepard's sorry ass back here."

"I will follow you." Legion trailed behind them "May I also recommend bringing Grunt. When Shepard is under influence by an old machine his strength becomes unmatched, just like the Harbinger-controlled Collectors we faced."

"Good call." Miranda nodded toward Doctor Chakwas as she made her way into her office where she used the intercom to call for Grunt and Kasumi to meet at the airlock. Mordin and Legion were already on their way to the airlock as Garrus volunteered to follow.

"Okay…" Miranda sighed as she reached the airlock. Instead of just Grunt, Legion, Kasumi and Mordin, Garrus, Kal'Reegar and Jacob decided they want to help out too.

"We can't go into C-Sec with a small army all holding shotguns and assault rifles. I think we're limited to only four, five people."

"So, who do we chose?" Kal sounded disappointed. He hardly ever went on missions. Maybe that was because he just joined a couple of months ago.

"Hah, chose the less squishy ones." Grunt growled.

"Looks like me and Kasumi have to sit out this one." Miranda folded her arms.

"Hey, since when am I squishy?" Kasumi threw her a stare followed by a smile. Obviously she didn't mean her complaint seriously and nobody took it seriously anyway. "Anyway that leaves Grunt, Legion, Mordin, Garrus, Kal and Jacob."

"We need to make this as inconspicuous as possible." Miranda thought out loud.

"What's inconspicuous?" Grunt asked, clearly annoyed that they couldn't start the mission already.

"That means we shouldn't have a Krogan armed to the teeth walking into C-Sec headquarters." Miranda smiled widely. It was payback. Nobody calls Miranda squishy and gets away with it.

Grunt snarled loudly at Miranda but he held himself back. It wasn't a good idea going all out at her when there were several others who could take him down.

"Legion and I would have to go." Mordin mentioned "Since we know the manner of his, erm, issue. I suppose letting Kal on a mission would be fair since he has been at a lack of action for the last month."

"So, who's the last person?" Miranda asked as she prepped the other three, briefing them on what to do and how the mission would go.

"Sorry Jacob," Kasumi broke the silence "But Garrus is the only one who can beat Shepard at sparring."

"Fair enough." Jacob shrugged and walked away to get the necessary weapons for the team. "I think I'm better back here making weapons to blow stuff up rather than blowing stuff up."

"Oh well. Since everybody knows what to do, we better get moving. We know Shepard is capable of taking out a squad of C-Sec guards. Even worse with a 'dark force' controlling him."


	40. Universal Flashpoint

**Important thing I need to ask you guys. At this point in time I have two options regarding this story.**

**(1) I can continue but alter the story slightly so as to fit Mass Effect 3 that's gonna be released this year (But the ending will not be the same for obvious reasons)**

**(2) I can stop once it hits storyline ME3, making it sort of a filler of what happened in between ME2 and ME3**

**Leave your suggestion in the comments. Please **

* * *

Liara T'soni sat on the bench just behind the pilot's seat. The Turian pilot rechecked the landing procedure as his Salarian co-pilot stabilized the pressure, initiated landing thrusters and prepared for the craft to land on a snowy plateau. Liara well knew she may not know what they will find on the surface of this uncharted planet, but in her nature she was naturally curious. She led her team of four, herself, Craig, Weston and Marak. Craig was the Salarian sitting next to Liara, Weston a human who has plenty of experience in exploration and Marak, the Salarian co-pilot, who was a scientist as well.

Touching down, Liara hopped out of the cockpit airlock followed by Craig and Weston, each of them unloading different pieces of equipment. Being a large planet, the team only had time to explore certain areas and obtain general statistics about this ice giant. The pilot made a final check before turning off the engines and sticking his head out of the window.

"I'll stand guard by the ship!" He yelled over the sound of howling wind and the crash of snow on the ship "Be back in three hours, that's all I can spare before the engines start to freeze!"

The ship was of military grade, with thick armour plating and somewhat powerful armament. But this ship has only been through few battles. Dr Tsoni believed good armour was needed for landing on rough terrain and weapons for defending themselves against pirates who tend to target explorer and cargo ships. The ship size was that of a small cruiser, small enough to land on the planet's surface but large enough to make Mass Relay jumps. The interior of the ship was stripped down to nothing but the cockpit, a small kitchen and two cabins with bunkbeds. The exploration team used all the free space to build labs, containing samples of rocks, water and all sorts of flora and fauna they could find.

"All right!" Liara yelled back "We shouldn't take more than two hours."

Clad in thick winter wear the team set off toward a lofty mountain peak. Despite advances in technology, mountaineering stayed the same. Rope, foot holds, hand holds and faith.

"What are you hoping to find?" Weston asked Liara as he checked the rock with his ice axe, looking for footholds. "The last few planet's didn't have anything prothean related buildings or artifacts."

"I was hoping there would be secrets here that tell us how to defeat the reapers."

"Well, you're in luck. All my years I'll never seen or felt rock like this. It almost feels, synthetic. I wouldn't recommend blowing a hole here cause the entire mountain might come down on whatever is in there. I suggest we climb it first, then see what we find." Weston attached a grapple onto his rope and threw it at a rocky outcrop just above the ledge they were aiming for.

Attaching the rope to his harness he slowly climbed the daunting ice mountain. He made sure to carefully test each and every piece of rock before putting his full weight on it. It was not long before he managed to reach the ledge. Attempting to pull himself up, he let his hands cling on to the ledge while he tried to haul himself up. Suddenly, his left hand fell loose as the rock he was holding crumbled beneath the pull of his weight, the remnants lightly tapping on the rest of the team's head. Liara gave a loud gasp as Weston regained his hold on the ledge, finally pulling himself up and giving them a thumbs up sign.

He quickly detached the rope and lowered it down for the rest of the team to come up. Liara followed the path that Weston took, taking note of where he had gone and which handholds he used. Eventually she made it up quite smoothly due to her ever advantageous light weight. With two people now on the ledge, it was easier to pull the heavier members of the team up without much difficulty and it posed less of a risk of they slipped or missed a foothold.

The Salarian co-pilot, Marak, went next. He took a different route from Weston, choosing to approach the ledge from a steeper but more secure route. He went through the same drill, testing each small rocky outcrop for future use. His meticulous behavior resulted in him climbing up to the snowy ledge safely before being pulled up by the other two on the ledge.

Last to go up was Craig, following Weston and Liara's route. He was halfway up when he felt his handhold loosening. On instinct, he tried to let his feet rest on something so he would not be dangling by one hand. His feet resting on a solid object and he heaved a sigh of relieve as his left handhold crumbled. But because of this quick and instinctive search for a foothold he did not test it first. The refrozen ice on his foothold made him quickly lose his balance and dangled not by one hand, but dangerously suspended by the rope and harness. His fellow team members up on the ledge dug their boots into the snow as they slowly but surely heaved their fourth member up.

Once they were all safely up on the ledge, they discussed their next move. Some wanted to continue up, but Liara and Weston decided that they would investigate this part of the mountain first, considering the fact that it was made out of synthetic rock. Probing the ice pack that lay before them, the team looked out for telltale signs like large pockets of air, openings, unnaturally flat rock. Eventually they found a neatly hidden cave behind a mound of snow, carefully hidden to look like the aftermath of an avalanche.

Torches were flicked on and beams of bright light pierced through the darkness that lay beyond. The team slowly advanced into the cave, Craig taking point. The deeper the ventured, the less light came from behind them, literally cutting down their vision to about sixty percent. And suddenly, Craig disappeared from their vision, leaving behind only a loud yell and a loud metallic thud afterward. Peering over the newly found cliff, they saw Craig lying on the floor, motionless.

They moved quickly to set up a rope, making sure it was very tightly secure as this may be their only way out of down there. Marak rappelled down first to tend to Craig's wounds as the other two slowly made their way down.

"So, how's he?" Liara squatted down next to where Marak propped Craig up against the wall.

"The fall wasn't too bad. He just knocked his head against the side of that cliff before landing on his legs, cushioned by his own backpack." Marak opened another bandage and started to tend to the open fracture at Craig's lower leg. "He'll survive," he reassured Liara "he may just need help walking for quite some time. And the large bump on his head may not be too pleasant either."

"The fall wasn't too bad? He fell through the ceiling! It must be like, taller than a 10 story building!"

"Calm down. He's quite strong and there are no other injuries that I can detect, so that's all we can do for now."

"Fine," Liara rubbed her temples "at least that's dealt with. Weston, could you pass me the digital map from your backpack? I need to check where we are."

There was no answer

"Weston?" Liara turned to see that he was gone.

There was a long pause. Could he have gone missing? He did share the same adventurous personality as Liara, he could have walked off by himself.

"Liara!" Weston yelled out "You have to see this."

And yes, she did have to. Taking the only possible exit left, she walked into a large circular room. It looked very dome shaped, except that it was huge, almost as if there was a planet in a planet. The first thing she noticed was the large antenna like structure a few miles ahead of her.

"Liara!" She caught sight of Weston running toward her from across the 'horizon'. "You really have to see this."

Liara ran after him as he led the way, taking them to a small structure. On the outside it looked like most of the prothean ruins, already a telltale sign of this planet's importance. So far anything prothean either gave them an edge or shed some light on things to come. But once she followed Weston inside, she knew it wasn't just a room. It was a control centre.

With lines of screens, some blank, some showing warnings in a language Weston could not understand. There were also datapads, scattered around desks.

"Liara, what can you make of this?"

"First of all this is definitely prothean writings. And the alerts, it says 'Signal Interrupted'. That's all."

"Signal Interrupted? Despite the huge ass antenna outside. What about the datapads?"

"Relax Weston, not all the information may be here. From experience the prothean ruins tend to have information scattered everywhere." Liara walked to the desk closest to her and picked up a datapad. "Disrupt signal at all costs." She pondered for a while. "Well we don't know whether this was an order issued from the good guys or the bad guys. But it looks like the signal is a good thing. Considering alerts saying that it has been disrupted."

"I see where you're getting too. I suggest we explore the rest of the area, and if possible find a secondary escape route."

Scouting the rest of the area, they took note of several things, the antenna, command centre, the large bunch of consoles near the antenna and a set of escape pods, in which three of the six were launched.

"Why do you think they left in escape pods?" Weston asked as he checked out one.

"It means they were forced to. If not they would have gone out the more discreet way." Liara peered ahead and caught sight of the command centre. She pondered the thought for a moment, dismissed it and considered it again. Finally she looked toward Weston. "We're walking on the core."

Marak managed to move Craig to the escape pods so that it would be easier to make an emergency escape just in case they needed to. With the new daunting fact that they were walking on the core, the team stuck to using maps that told them roughly where the important places were as compasses were rendered useless.

While Marak tried to figure out a way to get the escape pods working, Liara and Weston continued with their exploration, the first stop being the antenna controls.

The controls were, as usual, not of normal use and function and it gave them a hard time figuring out the basic buttons, not to mention the other various levers and knobs. Being an array of controls, Liara concluded that it was originally intended for many individuals before safely activating whatever the panels controlled. As written on some knobs, some panels controlled pressure and other physical conditions.

"Liara, do we even know what we are trying to activate?"

"I have close to no idea. But I hope it's something good. We came all the way down here for this." Liara tried to adjust more knobs and levers to optimal positions. "Ah ha, I think I've almost got it working. Weston if it's possible could you pay that big thing a visit? Check the wiring. Its detecting no power."

"All right." Weston pushed himself away from the controls as she walked down toward the nearby antenna. Bending down to carefully check the wiring he almost immediately found the problem. Taking one end of the loose plug in his left hand it connected it to the other side in his right hand. "Is it working now?"

"There's still no power flowing to the antenna."

"There's a small control panel but I can't read it. I'm going to need your help here."

Liara was in a tough situation. If she activated the antenna, there would be no one at the controls to stabilize it. "Is there any way I can help?" Liara heard a voice behind her as Marak approached the control panels.

"Oh, you're here. What about Craig and the escape pods?"

"He's fine. I managed to get all three escape pods working. It doesn't look like we need more than one. There's quite a bit of space in one of them."

"Alright. I'm going to see if I can get that thing up and running. I need you to stay here because if it activates from there, you're gonna need to stabilize it, make sure it gets enough power but not too much. You also have to adjust the pressure inside the system so that,"

"Liara wait, I don't even know what does what."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Pressure, power draw and frequency," Liara pointed to three knobs on the control panel she was at "Is all you need before I get back. I've already set the radio frequency so you just have to make sure it doesn't change. Keep the settings in yellow, green means too low and red means too high, got it?"

"Got it." Marak gave a thumbs up and he took over. Meanwhile, Liara decided to check out the small panel on the antenna base. It presented her a checklist, in which she responded with yes, yes, yes and yes. After a few more safety checks the console finally allowed her to power up the signaling antenna, in which she chose yes.

After getting the antenna up, Liara and Weston proceeded to join Marak in hopes of sending out whatever signal that was interrupted.

"Hm, it seems that the control panel is reacting on its own. It's sending out its own signals. It there must already be a program controlling all this, it was just waiting for us to set everything up."

"That's not good is it?" Marak asked as he stepped away from the controls.

"I don't know," Liara answered. Just then, she felt the ground tremble and small bits of debris fall from the ceiling. The trembling increased as visible cracks began to appear in the ceiling. "But I sure know that this is bad."

"We have to use the escape pod to get out of here." Weston suggested.

"Good thing I got them ready just now. Hurry, we don't have much time before this planet implodes, or explodes, or whatever you did."

"Get Craig in first, Weston and I have to go collect something."

"All right, but you should hurry up." Marak said as he ran off toward the escape pods.

"Follow me!" Liara shouted at Weston as she ran toward the command centre. Once inside, Liara wasted no time. "Take whatever you can!" She said as she started to stuff data pads, notes, diagrams and all sorts of materials into her backpack like a looter in a rich man's house.

"The bags are full, we have to go!" Weston sealed his bag and led Liara back to the escape pod. Marak was already at the controls and sealed the hatch just as they got in.

"So how does this work?" Liara inquired, setting her bag down next to her.

"We tunnel out"

Strapped up on their seats, the team braced themselves as Marak chose a spot to dig. The engines started and they took off at an unimaginable speed, flying through the air and into the rock before coming out at the surface again.

"There's our ship!" Craig exclaimed as he caught sight of the shiny stripe of orange that was painted along the side.

"I'll try to settle us as close as I can. But we're running out of fuel!"

"Just try!" Liara shouted.

The escape pod made it about four fifth of the way before its engines began to sputter. The escape pod dropped out of the air on to the ground where it skidded for good distance before coming to a halt near the ship. Scrambling the team helped to carry Craig as they ran back towards their escape with Liara trying to signal their pilot to start the engines.

"You better hurry up!" The pilot shouted once they were within earshot "It seems like the whole planet is gonna go kaboom! I've started the engines already and packed up, you just got to get in!"

The team ran faster as an explosion behind them scattered snow and debris all over their backs. Liara and Weston helped Craig into the ship first before going in and shutting the hatch behind them. Marak went through the cockpit hatch and took his seat in the Co-pilot's chair.

"Alright, we're all in. Let's get off this planet!" Marak shouted as stabilized the ship and the pilot gunned the throttles.

The ship started its ascend slowly before picking up speed, finally breaking out of the planet's orbit. Behind them they could see the planet slowly breaking apart and finally collapse into a bring blue portal of some sort.

"Oh my gosh what did we do!" Weston exclaimed at the sight of the portal.

"Oh no, I think they were trying to interrupt the signal for a reason. The keepers were the ones trying to start it up." Liara gazed into the bright blue light before sighing "We just ushered in,"

Liara paused halfway as a large cuttlefish like figure appeared before the portal "the final reaper invasion."


	41. Back with a Vengeance

C-Sec Detainment centre

"Dr. Tsoni, nice of you to call. But in difficult situation now," Mordin replied into his headset as he peeked round the corner. Seeing that there were no guns trained on him he took three shots at an exposed guard.

"Mordin, this I important. I can't seem to get Shepard or Tali. You're next on the list."

Machine gun fire filled the comm. channel as Mordin responding by firing off a few more shots of his pistol.

"Sorry, call you later." Mordin shut off the radio as he dashed across the across toward where Garrus and Legion were.

"This is bad, very, very, VERY, bad." Garrus checked his omnitool. "They've called for reinforcements. Maybe about 5,6 men coming out way." He shut off the omnitool as he looked toward Legion.

"Next time, can you not tell them the truth? You don't have to announce to the world we're here for Shepard!"

"I sincerely apologize. I will adapt to situations in the future." Legion fired an assault rifle burst at the bunker, two shots hitting a guard.

"Dr. Tsoni called. She said she had something very urgent to tell us. Can you direct a call for her to the Normandy?"

"Done." Garrus contacted Liara then redirected it to the Normandy cockpit. Picking up his sniper rifle again he popped his head out for a look.

"Why does Shepard have to be in a special bunker thing?"

"C-Sec most likely assumed he could hack the circuitry for a normal cell, disabling the energy shield."

"But what would make them think he could do that?" Garrus said as he scanned the entrance for guards, hoping it would be safe for them to proceed.

"He married a Quarian." Mordin checked his omnitool. "Hey, they called off the reinforcements."

"Huh? What? Why?" Garrus lowered his scope and turned around.

"It was easy, I just had to get into their mainframe. According to C-Sec HQ this battle is over and the guards have the situation under control. They're not going to believe that for long though." Kal strode over to where the rest of the team were.

"Good thing we brought you along. Now all we have to do is walk in and kick some hero ass."

Kal caught up with the rest as he pondered Garrus' last statement. "Garrus, I hope you know how ironic that sounds."

Restriction Cell Shepard's POV

"You fool! Do you still not know why I have been doing this?" The voice returned to my head. Apart from that everything else seemed normal. I'm in a cell, for obvious reasons, two guards standing outside, metal bars.

"I don't know but it sure is getting on my nerves." I said out loud. That was the only way I could talk to the voice without it sensing my every thought. Of course to the guards out there it would seem that I am crazy. But then again they thought I was crazy from the start.

"You were nothing but a tool. You were a distraction, to keep the attention off your friend Liara's actions."

"Yeah? And how do I know you're telling the truth."

"Your friend Liara led her team, on an expedition. They were attracted there by her greed for knowledge. She believed that it contained piles upon piles of information."

I suppose that is very Liara like. Maybe I should care about what he says. There could be something very important in what he says.

"Thinking it would save all life she activated a beacon. A beacon that was of much importance to me. One year ago the keepers of that planet sensed the problem with the Citadel mass relay. Their orders were to activate the beacon and open a portal to which my fleet would enter and destroy your world."

"My world! Why Earth?"

"You have always been my biggest pest. From the defeat of Sovereign to the destruction of the Collector base. I will destroy this galaxy eventually, but I will start with you Shepard. Your friends, your home, your world. All gone in front of your eyes. Thank Liara for me. Before both of you perish, for she did what the keepers were to do. Unfortunately their progress was halted because of an attack. But she completed it."

"So what? Now a reaper fleet is coming to get us?"

"Yes. And you are of no more use to me. You have served your purpose and I am giving you your last wish. I will release my control of you. But I will like to see how long you can hold that control."

The voice finished its last sentence before fading away. I felt different, as if I just woke up from some horrible dream. The feel of reality. So Harbinger (my best guess) was controlling me like a puppet, like how he did to those collectors. So that was how it felt like with someone in your mind, using you. Now I had another problem. It's going to be hard fixing all the trouble, convincing all the people and preventing all the repercussions.

But first, get out of here. Good thing the guards stand stupidly close to the door. Creeping up silently on the first, I darted my eyes back and forth, hoping the second guard wouldn't realize what I am going to do. He didn't, big mistake. With a swift motion I grabbed hold of his pistol, quickly leveling it with his chest and pulling the trigger twice.

But these guards are guarding me, and from what I know they don't send fresh recruits to guard high value targets. It all happened in a sudden. There was a sharp pain in my left arm as I instinctively responded by firing the rest of the pistol in his direction, two of them hitting his body and the third tearing through his leg.

It just occurred to me how tired I was. Was I really awake for two three days while Harbinger was playing his dirty little tricks on me? My arm was still searing with pain. I had to get out and find the others. Garrus, or Tali. Tali… she must be heartbroken to see me in such a state. Or she could be angry. To be honest I would prefer her to be angry. It really hurts you inside to see someone love being sad.

Picking up a fresh clip from the guard's body I shot the lock off the door and stumbled through. I remember this place had only one exit. So it shouldn't be too hard to find my way out. I trudged along the corridor, hugging the wall and using it for support. After every cell I felt my legs tire more and more. I was less than half asleep, yet my body told me to keep walking. Another desperate struggle against unconsciousness. I had to at least get to the Normandy, if I could even get out of this bunker like structure. What if there were guards?

I ignored all the what ifs and buts posed by my mind, driven on my own forced adrenaline I walked a few extra steps before collapsing on my knees, the pain on my arm not helping with this at all. Was this it? Is this how Commander Shepard was going to go down? No! I forcefully got up and dragged my feet another few steps. I couldn't take it anymore. No amount of forcing or encouraging would help. I dropped only again to my knees, my right hand supporting my weight. This was it. I couldn't even think anymore. I hope it's just a dream… just a dream.

C-Sec high security detention centre

"I think that's enough dead bodies for one day." Garrus holstered his pistol "Spread out, look for him."

"Found him!" Kal shouted.

"Wow, that was fast." Garrus walked over to where Kal was kneeling beside body, blood pooled around his left arm.

"Are you sure it's him?" Garrus knelt down on the opposite side "Are you sure he's sane."

"There seems to be no interference or other far range radio waves. He should be fine." Mordin helped to carry Shepard onto Garrus' shoulder.

"We'll find out later. We need to get him to the Normandy ASAP." Garrus followed behind Mordin who led the way out of the C-Sec area.

"Hey, wait. Do you hear that?" Garrus stopped dead in his tracks, fearing a patrol. That would be the worst possible scenario considering they were carrying one heavy guy who was out cold.

"I think it's from Shepard." Kal mentioned as he walked closer to Garrus.

"Then its fine, lets go."

"Cannot… stop. Must find… Normandy…find…Tali."

"Yeah okay he's sane." Garrus announced to the team after listening to Shepard's full rant.

Normandy SR-2 Captain's Quarters, the next day

Shepard woke up, slightly less tired and miserable than the day before. Opening his eyes he realized something different. He wasn't on the cold floor of the high security detention centre, he was on his bed in his quarters. He was on the Normandy.

"So it was a dream." Shepard said out loud without thinking.

"No it isn't a dream genius." Miranda said from across the room, causing Shepard to sit up. He took a good look around his room, seeing mostly scientific equipment, computers, various technical thingies and Mordin and Legion sitting by one side discussing matters. Garrus and Grunt were also in the room, but standing by one side.

"Ugh, who authorized all this scientific stuff in my room." Shepard rubbed his temples, still feeling the tiredness and body ache from the previous day.

"I did. Remember the rules of this ship. When you are unable to perform you duties,"

"Yeah, I know. You take charge."

"Oh well. I better head to the briefing room. I need to tell the crew something. You know, when Harbinger was talking in my head."

"I'm sorry Shepard but you can't do that. You need to stay here and lie down in bed so that Mordin can finishing analyzing all the data from the chats between Harbinger and you."

"Yes I can do that." Shepard flipped his legs over the side of the bed, landing his feet on the floor. Almost immediately Grunt, Miranda and Garrus had their side arms drawn and aimed at him.

"Okay, I get it. I still count as insane." He got back onto the bed and lay down, closing his eyes. "Happy now?"

"Thanks for understanding Shepard." Garrus walked over to him. "I know you're fine but we just need to make sure."

"If there's nothing else, there's a reaper invasion I have to attend to." Miranda turned around and walked toward the lift with Grunt and Garrus behind.

"Hey! That's supposed to be my job!" Shepard shouted across the room "Oh and could I at least get a blanket, it's kinda cold here." Suddenly Shepard could feel the warmth again. "Thanks! That was fast."

"Shepard, they've left." Mordin stated matter of factly.

"Oh, okay. Hey this is warm, it's nice. It's a bit too heavy for a blanket though."

"Shepard, you can open your eyes and move your hands. I just need you to stay within this area where we can detect the microchip in your brain."

"I'm so excited." Shepard said sarcastically "I hope this 'blanket' isn't one of your funny science contraptions to keep people warm."

"This 'blanket' that you speak of is now feeling sad." Legion spoke for once.

Shepard opened his eyes to find out what all this mysteriousness was. It was always irritating when someone knew something and acted as if you knew.

Tali was lying on top of Shepard, fully suited, hugging him with all her might. "Hey, Tali" Shepard put a reassuring hand on her back.

"I thought you were gone. Lost to some… otherworldly presence." Tali said between sobs.

"I'm sorry Tali. Are you sad?"

"Yes." Tali replied with sudden seriousness.

"Hey, sorry." Shepard let his hand curl around her, holding her in comfortably.

"Here's that stupid blanket you wanted, _sir_." Miranda said with mock enthusiasm as she threw the piece of cloth over and Shepard caught it with one hand. Shepard flapped the blanket and lay it over them both.

"Try not to go insane the next time. Please Shepard, please." Tali's hand stroked Shepard's cheek, feeling the reality of his presence. "I thought I was in some dream when I saw Garrus dragging you back into the Normandy."

"Yeah, I wish I was in a dream. Wait, Garrus dragged me back!"

"Haha, not really. But it was funny to see Kal'Reegar and Garrus work so hard just to get you up to this room." Tali went back to her own natural jovial attitude.

"So, do you know where we are now?" Shepard rolled Tali over so that they were side by side but facing each other.

"We're on the run again. Just like we were more than two years ago. But this time the Citadel guns opened fire. They perceived you as more of a threat than the reaper invasion."

"But, what Harbinger said. About Liara opening a portal of some sort and bringing all the reapers in."

"Harbinger told you that? The Normandy got a call from Liara yesterday and she said the same thing."

"So he wasn't lying. He really was just trying to play with me, distract everyone else. Well, he won. The council thinks I'm a bigger threat than his 300 reapers."

"Shepard, this is why we need you to stay here." Mordin looked up from his console "Harbinger may have said other thing you were not aware of. Legion and I are going to try and decode that data. It may be a good thing Cerberus installed that microchip."

"I have a microchip? In my brain?"

"Oh, no. In your arm of course." Mordin replied sarcastically before going back to his equipment.

"Shepard, I know I anticipated most of these ridiculous thing when I married an intergalactic hero," Tali curled one hand around his neck, drawing him closer "but after all this is over, the reapers, all that. Could we try again? Start a normal life? Without all the dying, the stress and the insanity."

"Of course Tali, of course." Shepard leaned in and kissed her lightly on her helmet.

"I would really like to know why you went on a rampage at the bar. You know, out of curiosity."

"It started off with work stress, the fear of failing. Then I guess Harbinger used that moment of mental weakness to take control."

"You should really learn how to de-stress. Ever tried talking to Samara? Maybe she has some ideas."

"It's already the final fight. Now or never. It can wait." Shepard took another look around his room. Most of these equipment were from the medical bay and from Mordin's Lab.

"I'm bored." Shepard thought out loud.

"You know, it's only two in the morning and we're cuddling under a blanket." Tali smiled under her mask as she said jokingly.

"Shepard, before you make any decisions may I remind you there are other people present in your room at this moment." Mordin looked up from his screen again and stared at Shepard.

"We were hoping to catalog this data. No similar data has been found regarding this topic." Legion commented.

"All right I get it already!"


	42. ReInduction

Normandy SR2

"Commander Shepard, it's good to have you back." Kelly gave Shepard a quick salute as he exited the elevator, walking towards the bridge. Shepard returned the salute and continued on his way, determined to obtain up-to-date news about the reaper invasion.

"Hey commander. Nice to have you back." Joker turned his chair around to face Shepard as he approached the bridge.

"It's good to be back. How's our situation with the reapers? Any planets attacked yet?"

"We lost contact with two Alliance outposts, both of them situated at the edge of charted space. We also lost a squadron of four Quarian scout ships."

"Quarian scout ships?"

"We were the only ones who knew about the invasion. Liara contacted us first. The Quarian Admiralty decided they had time to look for a new planet first. I kept the reports from the attack on the outposts. Let me see." Joker turned back to the console and punched in a few commands, waiting for a document to open before closing it after noticing the light below the meeting room. "Hey, Miranda's talking to the Citadel council right now. You should just go and talk to them both. I'm sure the council won't mind."

Shepard nodded toward Joker in appreciation before heading toward the briefing room. Rounding the corner that led to the briefing room Shepard could hear Miranda's voice before he even entered.

"Please, I assure you Dr. Tsoni is more than a reliable source. We need you to trust us in this matter."

Shepard decided he would let the interesting argument play out before he would go in.

"We never doubted her loyalty, but we need to hear it directly from her. Unless you can bring her to meet us at the Citadel today, you will lose what remaining trust we have in you."

Shepard thought this would be the perfect time to intervene. He could step in, make everyone gasp because he's sane, then mention they still had the audio log of the emergency call from Liara. Stepping into the room and onto the holographic pad, Shepard mentioned matter-of-factly,

"We still have the audio logs from Liara's emergency call. We can bring them if you want."

There was a small gasp from the Asari council member just before she spoke.

"Commander Shepard, you're all right."

Shepard gave small smile. It was nice to know someone actually cared, or bothered. It didn't really matter to him, he just wanted to get back on the Council's good side. It's hard to fight a war alone.

"If you would excuse us for a moment." The council stepped out of their holographic pad, leaving Miranda and Shepard alone in the room.

"I suppose I could ask you about our situation now?" Shepard turned to face Miranda as she rubber her temples.

"As you saw just now, I was trying to convince them of the threat in hopes that we could at least get a fleet or two back. I suppose since the captain is fit for active duty, it's your job now."

"I heard from Joker we already lost two outposts. And four Quarian scouts."

"I can only say the outposts had it coming. They were situated very close to the uncharted planet Liara's signal originated from. And I don't suppose the reapers would waste time hanging around, they would have started their journey almost immediately."

The return of the council prevented her from further explaining what happened to the Quarian scouts.

"Based on the medical and scientific reports we have received from Dr Solus and that fact that you have returned to active duty, we have no reason to think of you as an enemy. We hereby return to you your status of a Spectre."

"If it is possible," The Turian council member continued "we would like you to meet us in the Council chamber this afternoon to discuss the details of the war. Welcome back Commander Shepard."

With that the holographic image flickered away as light once again flooded the briefing room.

"Wow, that was… some pretty good convincing." Miranda faced Shepard once again.

"Good thing they think of Mordin as a reliable source. Seems to me this was the shortest argument with the Council."

"If Mordin was always reliable in their eyes why did it take me so long?" Miranda put her hands on her hips.

"That, is why I'm Captain."

Before Miranda could think of an equally witty retort or comment Shepard had walked back to the CIC and she could hear him shout to the cockpit before entering the lift.

"Joker! Citadel!"

Citadel, Council Chamber

"We have read the emergency reports from the two outposts we have lost, both of them explicitly state the presence of reapers."

"That much we know," Shepard replied "Is there anything else? The strength of the fleet? How many are there?"

"As we all know, one reaper would be enough to take out an outpost that fast, although we suspect that the entire fleet would be on its way."

"Harbinger did say he wanted to target earth."

"Dr. Solus did mention something like that in his data. Considering the location of the attacked outposts that may likely be the case." The Salarian council member rested his elbows on the table.

"Considering their destructive nature I would suggest we not leave other important and strategic locations undefended." Miranda suggested, speaking up for the first time during the meeting apart from 'hello'.

"That, Miss Lawson, is a piece of advice I will not ignore." But before he could further describe the safeguards and patrols they had set in place, an emergency comm. channel opened.

"This is Captain Granger of the SSV Hylestrail. We are under attack by twenty plus reapers, requesting immediate assistance."

"Captain Granger, we have forces on standby. Can you give us more details?"

"The fights going on in space and on the ground. Many of our men have taken up positions on the planet nearby. Sending co-ordinates now."

"Acknowledged. We are sending Commander Shepard and a strike team to your position now."

The comm. channel closed and the sounds of gun fire and explosions ceased, leaving the room in dead silence.

"I guess that's our cue." Chairs were pushed back and Shepard's team got up from their seats.

"You will be assigned to task force Echo. Your pilot has already been given the codes for the communication channel assigned to the team. Welcome back Shepard."

The rest of the emergency strike team consisted of three large Krogan battleships. Five Turian battle cruisers and another five standard issue Alliance cruisers. Despite being relatively small in number compared to a fleet, Krogan battleships were a force to be reckoned with. The concept was simple, think Krogan on a spaceship scale. The task force was pretty decent by Shepard's standards, considering that each ship should have a reasonable number of combat staff as the fight was planet side too.

After all the ships had rendezvoused with the Normandy at the Citadel, Shepard gave the order to walk straight into the lion's mouth.

Planet Chedinal

Captain Granger was seated at a table inside their makeshift bunker. Upon initial contact they knew it was a losing fight. There was no chance, twenty reapers against a patrol of three Alliance cruisers, 5 scout ships and two armed Quarian ships. It was a matter of dodge and evade until re-enforcements came. Granger and the Captain of the Quarian ship Norvac had came up with a creative plan to actually stand a chance.

The remaining two Alliance cruisers and two scout ships and the Norvac pooled together available resources and set up a base planet side. They used the salvaged guns from the downed Alliance cruiser and the now-wreckage Quarian ship to create anti-air defenses on the ground. However this was met by consistent attacked from the reapers through Scions, the occasional squad of collectors which had survived and of course, husks.

Captain Granger looked across the table at Captain Illia, turning his attention away from the reports that had come in over the past few hours. So far they had lost thirteen men and seven quarians. Two MACs and one GARDIAN cannon had been steadily concentrating fire on one reaper the whole time, and they were close to killing it.

"Do you have any ideas?" Illia looked over at him, hoping they could come up with another ingenious idea. The fatality rate did not account for the many who were injured and unable to continue on fighting. Now they had just over twenty healthy, combat ready men. An alarm blare sounded, Granger and Illia rushed out, weapons ready and joined the men in the trench. Three 'pods' had crashed to the ground, one of them a dreaded Praetorian. Granger blindly fired his pistol into the cloud of dusk, hearing them contact with his enemy. Many of the other soldiers did the same, blind firing submachine guns and assault rifles, others chose to conserve ammo.

As the dust cleared twenty or so husks rushed towards their position. Slapping a new clip in, he took potshots at the legs of a few, downing about four of them before the rest of his team killed them for good. In the distance he could make out the shape of the Praetorian and two Scions making their way over towards the little base. A few husks managed to make their way into the trench, taking swipes at the men before being blown apart by shotgun blasts. Now came the dangerous thing, Scions. They usually moved into place while the husks drew attention away.

Primed and ready the two Scions fired almost simultaneously, the blasts knocking two soldiers over and sent another one flying into the concrete. _Another one down_. Granger watched solemnly as he reloaded his pistol. Sniper rounds pierced through the first Scion, making it flinch only so slightly. He could always count on the battle hardened Quarian to provide covering fire with his semi-auto sniper rifle. As most snipers do, he had a bolt action one within arm's reach.

More assault rifle fire came from the roof of the bunker, most of them deflecting off the barrier of the Praetorian. Most of them never saw one before, and Granger blamed it on them for not reading, and instinctively fired at it. The two biotics they had decided to use their warping powers, doing surprisingly high damage and draining the barrier. Now open to fire, a high caliber round pieced through the Praetorian's armour, making it screech and slam into the ground, recharging its barrier once again.

Granger poked his head out of cover, only to have the Praetorian's energy beams glance past his head and disintegrate an unfortunate soldier taking cover behind him. After he heard the beam wear off he leapt out of cover, firing his pistol wildly at the huge beast floating in the air before ducking behind the next concrete block.

Even though it had not reached the base, it was still decimating the soldiers with its energy beam. It was almost a goner, a lost fight. The combined force of Scions and a Praetorian had taken out half the men. Although Illia managed to pump all five high caliber rounds into the first Scions, effectively killing it, it was too late. Casualties were too high. Twelve men against a killing machine with backup? But there was nowhere to run.

Under the Captain's orders, the remaining men trained their fire on the Scion, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and those with shotguns switched to their pistols for accuracy. After another three fatalities before the Scion finally fell. However the Praetorian was still alive and well, keeping its distance to pick off soldiers with its powerful energy beams.

It was trying to take his team out from afar. It knew that wherever his men took cover it would simple destroy the cover. Although why it never advanced to pounce on them was a mystery. Granger believed it was waiting for backup, keeping them busy. Sure enough a few other Scions dropped in from the atmosphere, stumbling toward their base slowly but surely.

Granger's radio crackled in his helmet, a rare thing they would expect at this time.

"This is Joker of the SSV Normandy, can you read me?"

"This is Captain Granger of the Hylestrail. Captain Illia of the Norvac and I are holed up in a base planet side together with the few remaining crew. We're facing a reaper invasion planet side now, about ten plus dead."

"Copy that. We have your positions and are coming in. Return to your headquarters and bunker down. The Normandy will be there to assist. The rest of the fleet is coming in ETA ten minutes."

"Affirmative. Granger out."

Leave it to Shepard to pull off heroic acts. Such a timing. He immediately switched to squad channels and gave the order. "Illia, get your men inside, the Normandy's gonna blow this place sky high. My men, do the same."

He could see men dash for the entrance in between the bursts of Scion cannons and Praetorian energy beams.

"Shepard's here?" Illia asked.

"Yeah, why? You knew him well?"

"Inside first, then I'll tell you."

Almost simultaneously, Illia and Granger made a mad dash for the entrance. A well timed blast from a Scion het Granger square in the back, sending him flying face first in the sand. Illia ran by him and picked him up with his free hand, dragging him into the bunker and closing the reinforced steel door behind them.

Granger, with the help of Illia, got to his feet and dusted the sand off his uniform.

"You were saying?" Granger asked as he led the way toward the external viewing screens.

"Yes, that. There was a lot of talk in the Migrant fleet about Commander Shepard and Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah."

"I think I've heard the Alliance version before." Granger gave a chuckle as he turned on the external cameras.

Outside, the Normandy disabled its FTL drives and sped toward the wreckage and the planet.

"I'm detecting more hostiles down there. You need to drop the shuttle and head planet side once you see the explosion. You're only going to have once chance at this."

"I think we all know that." Commander Shepard replied to the intercom as he turned around to see his handpicked crew (again) climb aboard the Kodiak. Grunt and Jack were already inside. Miranda was climbing on and Zaeed was standing next to Shepard.

The cockpit of the Normandy was getting a bit too crowded. With Tali unable to join fights on the ground anymore, the crew had installed a co-pilot seat and console in the cockpit so that Tali could help out in her own way. Doing what she did best, Tali had, with some help from Garrus, retrofitted the Normandy's armament within the past few months.

"We're in range. EDI give us a firing solution."

"Calculating… firing solution available, sent to console."

"Alright Tali, show em' what we backstage fighters are made of."

Tali's three fingered hands flew over the consoles almost as fast as Joker's hands did, adjusting power, angle and other various factors. Almost immediately four high explosive photon missile launched from the underside of the Normandy, two at a time.

Joker swerved the Normandy to the side as he tried to avoid crashing due to the planet's high gravity. Tali fired the port side's auto cannons so as to thin the numbers further so Shepard wouldn't have such a hard time. Reinforcements from the reapers were coming as fast as they could kill them. Despite what they had seen about husks coming up from the ground, the number of ground forces each reaper held were limited. They had to make sure the MAC cannons didn't fall.

Inside the slightly cramped shuttle. Shepard gave the pilot the green light. As the Normandy swerved over the battle field the pilot gunned the engines so they would come straight into the firefight.

"So, back in the business?" Miranda looked over to Shepard who was sitting opposite her.

"Yup, we all are, aren't we."

Grunt gave a growl as Zaeed and Miranda gave a smile. Jack only nodded in approval. Shepard smiled. It was like old times, going around the Galaxy, saving lives and being badass.

Just better.


	43. Back In Business

Teamwork? You couldn't teach Shepard about teamwork. He would be teaching you. Many say the only training for leadership is leadership, they aren't wrong. Through situations and experience true leaders are born. Shepard? Let's just say he has a lot of experience.

Chedinal

The co-pilot turned his head around to give Shepard a nod and a thumbs up, indicating they were above the battlefield.

"Alright team, let's go!" Shepard yelled over the noise and jumped off the Kodiak, rolling on impact to prevent his legs from breaking. The rest of the team got off the shuttle in their own separate ways. Zaeed jumped off, a bit like Shepard but hit the ground flat on his two feet, unaffected by the impact. Miranda used her biotics to slowly descend while Jack used a biotic charge to dive off the Kodiak and knock off a husk while she was at it. Grunt, simply walked off and landed.

The next ten minutes were the most co-ordinated attack Granger had ever seen. It was flawless, they utilized each other's strengths to decimate the enemy oh so efficiently even though it was the same enemy that killed half his squad. Shepard and Zaeed provided covering fire for Jack, who charged up her biotics before unleashing a devastating blast on the nearby Praetorian. After that Miranda held it in place as Grunt came running up, jumping just before he reached it and came down on it fist first. Tearing right through the unprotected Praetorian, Grunt hit the ground without damage. He quickly pulled out his claymore shotgun from behind him and ran to join Shepard.

The massacre continued for the rest of the time. Efficient gunning down of husks, smooth one hit one kills on scions. Granger continued to watch in awe at the battle that was taking place not too far away. He just assumed the reapers deemed Shepard's team as the more immediate threat as they seemed to have forgotten about him. He could still see four reapers hanging around in the atmosphere, the rest were out in space, away from the planet.

"Grunt, go help those people in the bunker, we'll take care of things here." Shepard shouted to Grunt while firing assault rifle bursts at a scion. Grunt replied with a nod and charged off toward the base, barging through several husks along the way. Reaching the base he cleared off the surrounding husks by rapidly firing off his shotgun.

"We're clear! Get your guns and get out there!" Granger yelled at the few men that remained and keyed in the access codes for the main blast door. With Illia, Granger walked out of the bunker with his assault rifle in hand and gave Grunt a short nod, and got one in return. In the distance he could see Shepard come running over towards him.

Resting his assault rifle on the wall Shepard turned to Granger.

"What's the update?"

"Is it safe to talk out here?" Granger took a look around and noticed that the fighting seemed to have stopped, at least for now.

"Yes, they seem to have recalled most of their troops. At the very least stopped sending them. The cavalry should be here soon." Shepard looked up in the sky. Almost instantly three large, intimidating Krogan battleships materialized as their FTL drives were deactivated. All of them opened fire on a single reaper without hesitation, high velocity mass accelerator cannons firing high explosive rounds which drained the shields almost instantly before creating large holes in the reaper's hull.

"They're here." Shepard picked up his assault rifle and motioned for Granger and his men to follow. Shepard led them to the Kodiak which had just returned from the Normandy. He had sent his team up before him so there would be space for Granger, Illia and what men they had left. It was still awfully cramped as the Kodiak whisked them back to the Normandy.

Normandy SR2 – Cockpit

The three captains stood inside the Normandy cockpit, watching the rest of the attack force come into the battlefield.

"How much backup did they send?" Captain Illia was curious to know and figured it was an appropriate time to ask.

"Three Krogan battleships, five Turian and five Alliance battle cruisers. Not much, but a reasonable enough force to put up a fight."

"What are we doing here then? Should we be helping?"

"We will, in a while." Shepard turned away from the men and stepped over to Tali. "Do you have the program?" Tali nodded in reply and pulled out a small OSD and passed it to Shepard. He smiled briefly, but it was enough for Granger to shoot Illia a suspicious look.

"My mission is different. Sadly I won't be doing any destroying today, my job is to hack into a reaper, if possible. Both of you have two options. One, I can post each of you to a ship, or two, you join me. But I must warn you, if you join me I have no guarantee of your safety."

Both of them looked at each other for a while before exchanging nods.

"We'll follow you Shepard. You saved us back there, it's the least we can do." Granger spoke up, representing the decisions of both of them.

"Alright, follow me then." Shepard turned around and walked toward the main elevator, turning his head only to give Joker the command.

The Normandy's engines flared as it sped off toward a reaper on the far side of the battlefield. This one had already been marked and the rest of the team was wary not to fire onto it. Joker once again displayed his fine maneuvering skills as he dodged flying tentacles and stray laser beams. Once they were close enough Joker could see the reaper had its shields up. The faint glow of the blue humming barrier made it almost similar to the biotic barriers Miranda or Jack sometimes put up during battle.

"Alright Tali, I hope the Migrant fleet expected a test success." Joker typed in commands to unleash their latest weapon. Built to be like the overload command on an omnitool the Migrant Fleet had improved their shield draining super weapon. Originally small ships needed to circle the target to disrupt the shields but it proved to take too much time and the ships disrupting the shields could be easily destroyed. Through much time and effort put in by weapons and technology experts they now had an overload function, for ships.

The Normandy sparked lightly as a blue beam emitted from the ship's cannons. Hitting the reaper on target its shields started to flicker. A few more seconds of concentration on one spot and a large portion of shield where the beam had hit dissipated, allowing a small-medium ship to pass through.

"Okay Shepard! We're good!"

Down in the main cargo hold the large door opened. The Kodiak was powered up once again, with Granger, Illia, Shepard and Legion seated inside. The Kodiak slowly made its way out of the cargo hold before flying toward the small gap full speed ahead.

Reaper

It had been a mad dash for the hole as they had tried to make it before the shield regenerated. Unluckily for them, the Kodiak had made it, but not its engines. The shield reappeared just as the passenger compartment cleared it, essentially cutting the engines clean off. The slight gravity and already present momentum of the Kodiak ensured that they crashed into the reaper.

Shepard crawled out from under the wreckage and helped Granger up. Everyone else was here, except for the pilot. The Kodiak had crashed head on with the reaper, and the pilot was, unlucky. Shepard shook his head twice, clearing out blurriness that was due to the crash. After pulling themselves together they made a quick check of weapons, equipment, the program. All were present. After that Shepard led his team on a short walk toward the nearest entrance.

As usual, Shepard's team went in guns blazing, gunning down husks as they maneuvered from corridor to corridor, their eventual destination being the 'bridge' of the reaper. There wasn't a specific name for it yet, but they all knew what they meant by the 'bridge' of a reaper. It was discovered during one of Liara's explorations.

Now the hard part began. It was another hold out mission. Legion would be busy facilitating the download of data from the console and running it through the program in the OSD. That left Granger, Illia and Shepard to defend the site and Legion.

"Incoming! Right side!" The download was carried out in a room off the right side of a corridor. The enemy could only attack from two sides, but as they all knew, husks weren't bound by walking. Two scions approached their location and Illia opened fire with his bolt-action. But he could only pump out rounds as fast as his weapon permitted. Husks were emerging from the ground right in front of them.

Granger sprayed them before they fully came out without hesitation. He was briefed on husks, abominations, scions and praetorians. He had never seen an abomination before, and he wasn't intending to see one. But they did. An abomination led a charge of five husks from the left. Shepard's assault rifle spat out three bursts and the abomination exploded in flames, taking two of the husks along with it. Turning his attention away from the other scion Illia used his sniper rifle to take out the last three husks, his range an advantage over the others.

Shepard and Granger concentrated their efforts on the scion, firing round after round at it. Thinking quickly Shepard threw one of the incendiary grenades Zaeed had given him. The scion was still at range and being organic material, it caught fire quickly. It let out an ear piercing shriek as it burned up into ashes.

What really drew their attention was coming from inside the room. Granger instinctively checked on Legion only to find three husks tearing away at him. He understood Legion's importance, he was an AI, he was needed. He dashed forward and knock one of the husks off its feet and emptied his submachine gun into the second. Hearing the click of an empty clip he brought the gun down on the third, engaging in a dangerous fistfight with a husk. The first husks had gotten back to his feet and took a swipe at Granger, hitting him on the head.

Granger recovered quickly from the blow, but precious time was lost. He flung a left blow in retaliation as he took out the empty clip from his submachine gun with his right. Another vicious swiped and his gun was knocked from his hands. He whipped out his pistol and fired off a few shots at the first husk, disintegrating its weak body. He put the rest into the third, but two more had emerged from the ground. He was hopelessly outnumbered. It was then Shepard decided he would do another daring rescue. Too many, in Granger's opinion, for comfort.

Shepard dashed in swung his assault rifle, the butt of the rifle slamming into the side of a husk. He quickly brought the firearm up and gunned down the remaining husks. Checking on Legion he assured Granger he was unharmed. Granger had arrived to save Legion just in time. The download was uninterrupted and almost finished, with only about ten percent more.

The two of them stepped out only to see Illia on the ground, using his arm to desperately fend off the attack of a husk. A few pistol shots and Granger could help his friend up. But now they were faced with a new wave of attackers, a scion and twenty husks. Having lost his sniper rifle off a ledge, Illia could only pull out his pistol and take potshots at husks legs.

A few shots of pistols, assault rifle and submachine guns were needed before they could shave off the numbers down to a scion and twelve husks. A well placed incinerate tech attack by Illia took the numbers down to ten, not to mention they had a scion to worry about.

A sniper shot rang out from behind them. Legion had taken a shot and a husk fell to the floor bodiless.

"Alright! Legion's here let's go! Let's go!" Shepard yelled as he broke from cover and ran with Legion down the hallway. The other two followed suit and they jogged back to where they came from.

"Normandy! This is commander Shepard! We are done with the mission, I repeat, we are done with the mission."

"This is the Normandy, we read you loud and clear."

"Joker, we need a pickup, the Kodiak's gone! Died in the crash, we're on the way."

"Shepard we can't! We can't create a hole big enough for the Normandy. Wait a sec,"

Shepard waited anxiously for Joker's reply as they made it down another long corridor. They would soon be approaching the exit point. Once they clear that they would be in open space. A sitting duck for another reaper. Besides, husks and scions would keep coming. A shot from a scion reminded them of the danger. Shepard had barely dodged out of the way.

"Shepard, we have a Krogan shuttle coming for you. ETA three minutes. I advise you stay inside before it comes. It's a war out here, something stray might decimate the whole squad."

That was it then, the team took up positions at the entrance/exit point. There was practically a horde coming towards them now. As they ran down the hallways they had triggered more and more emergency alarms. Husks were gunned down, cover was blown apart, deaths were close. Until it finally came.

"Shepard, the shuttle is on the way. It's clear to exit."

They slowly retreated, moving from cover to cover. Legion had keyed in the access codes and the door was wide open. One by one they slowly made their way out, starting with Legion and ending with Illia. Then all hell broke loose. A large piece of shrapnel had found its way past the shield and was coming straight for them. Shepard and Granger dodged out of the way but the shrapnel was able to cut the walkway that they were on.

The result was that Illia was now hanging by one hand, clinging to the walkway, but his grip was slipping. Shepard dashed in, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him up. Husks were no longer an issue, but scions were still taking shots at them. Shepard pulled Illia up as his leg was injured during impact. A sudden creak and the part of walkway they were standing on tilted, but did not fall. Shepard now saw himself lying flat on the walkway, trying to ensure Illia did not fall. Illia was holding on to Shepard's hand desperately. But then, a sudden shot from a scion tore off his other arm. He screamed in pain and Shepard could hear it.

"Shepard! Come on! We have to leave now!" Granger shouted at Shepard as Shepard looked at Illia painfully. Another tough decision every soldier has to make. Illia look at Shepard and shook his head wearily.

"Go, don't bother about me." Illia looked at his other arm, which was now reduced to nothing but a bloody pulp. Shepard closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting his hand go, dashing out of the God forsaken place just as the walkway collapsed. Once inside the shuttle he couldn't help but look back at the entrance as the reaper started to explode, a result of the commands they had put in and the explosives they had placed.

The other ships were cleaning up the rest of the field. With new technology and reaper busters each ship had more of a fighting chance. Together, they were a formidable force. In total they had lost one Krogan battleship, three Alliance vessels and two Turian cruisers. But most of the escape pods had been launched. With the help of the ground Mass Accelerated Cannons the strike force had been able to take out twelve full reapers. Eight of the reapers had left the battlefield, headed off in an unknown direction.

This war would be on their side. They had a fighting chance. The Citadel would hold, the council will survive, Humanity will not be lost. But war, war had its costs, as every soldier would know. And Shepard was a soldier, right down to the core.


	44. War For Dummies

The last week had been very, eventful. Many minor colonies of all races had been attacked, and most of them wiped out almost instantly. The reaper invasion acted like a death wave, sweeping past colonies and planets and leaving them barren and uninhabitable. Only forty or so Reapers had been destroyed in the last week despite the many encounters. Most of them were ambushes, and sometimes ships that responded to the emergency call found nothing.

As the reapers started edging closer and closer towards the Citadel casualties were at an all time high. Larger, more populated worlds were being targeted and attacked, however that at least meant that there would be enough of a force stationed there to put up a fight. As the Citadel council mulled over the problem they had a new one. Resources were growing thin, the number of warships had gone down by almost a third, and they had no idea how many more reapers existed.

Meanwhile, Quarian and Salarian scientists were working in overdrive to process and dissect the data that Shepard's team had recovered. So far a few useful nuggets of information had been pulled out and made known to almost everyone. Most of the data was raw, distinct facts and figured. What the scientists had managed to discover is the truth behind husks. The reports that were obtained showed that husks were very much like the reapers. They were organic beings that have undergone the process of 'implantation', the putting of certain reaper technology directly into the brain. From there on the reapers could almost directly gain control of the being.

And now, Shepard was on the move again.

The mission was simple. Eliminate the reaper threat.

Normandy SR2

"So if any of you, decide now that you don't want to be out there, you want to stay safe in the Citadel, say it now." Shepard stood in front of the crew who were all gathered in the cargo bay, the only place large enough to hold them all.

"I really want to thank all of you. You've all been a great help. But you signed up to help stop the collectors, fighting the reapers head on, goes beyond your call of duty." Shepard paused to let the crew think, there were a few murmurs and some talking amongst themselves.

"We've already started an intergalactic war, a war that I intend to finish, win or lose. We face a stronger opponent, one that out powers us, one that out numbers us. Are you prepared to give up all you have to stand your ground?"

The talking grew louder. Some of them responding to the question while others knew it didn't need an answer. They would stand their ground, all of them would.

"The final fight is at hand, the reapers are coming to the Citadel. It's now or never. So who's with me?"

A loud chorus reply filled the room. Cheers and war cries resounded within the walls of the cargo bay. All of them, everyone present in that room, would stand by Shepard. They'd put in too much to pull out now, they had nothing else to lose. By signing up to help fight the collectors they had already put themselves in this position. Yes, it wasn't mandatory that they fight the reapers, but how would you feel knowing that you've let everyone you know and love down?

The Normandy swooped into Citadel space, entering a field of debris, the result of the previous encounter. A handful of reapers were still present and ships were constantly being flown in to aid in the defense of the Citadel.

"Normandy SR2 calling Alliance flagship, what's the status?"

"Commander Shepard, about time you showed up." There was a pause while static filled in "Two squadrons have been assigned to you. Hope you haven't forgot how to command." It was a lighthearted joke, but forgetting how to command properly was a very serious thing amongst commanders.

"Anything else? What's the situation like around here?"

"The reapers have been coming in twos or threes, thing we can't handle. Not without the occasional lost ship." There was a momentary pause as both commander had a moment of silence for the lost "Apart from that we haven't seen the main force. Either they're not here, or this is all just a distraction. For the moment you're on patrol duty around Citadel space. I've already set up the rendezvous for you to meet with the rest of your squadron."

"Copy that. Normandy out." Shepard stepped away from the screen and headed back to the cockpit.

"You don't need to say, already got the co-ordinates." Joker turned his head to face the commander after keying in the co-ordinates for the rendezvous.

Rendezvous Point

Each squadron consisted of about 5 or 6 alliance ships, usually a mish mash of frigates, cruisers and the occasional dreadnaught. In total 11 ships were waiting for the Normandy's arrival before starting its patrol course. A squadron of 6 frigates, and a strike team of a dreadnaught and 4 cruisers were hung in space, taking some time off to take a breather. Just out of the previous skirmish with a few reapers, the crew of the dreadnaught were taking time to do some minor repairs.

A bright blue flash filled the area as the Normandy dropped out of FTL speed and into real space.

"About time you showed up. The Admiral briefed you yet?"

"Yes. If you don't mind we can start our patrol route now."

"Copy that."

The patrol route took the ships through three star systems, all of which had highly populated planets. It was a preset route, simply key it into any navigation system and it would run the course.

"So far so good. Anything on your side commander?"

Commander Shepard looked at the most recent readings. It was all quiet. Despite the predictions of this area being the next reaper target, there was no sign of trouble, or any sign of future trouble for that matter of fact.

"Nothing so far. Keep on the lookout, it seems too quiet."

"Should I try to contact planet side?"

"Good idea. Patch it through to all ships."

Static filled the cockpit as there was no reply. Both sides waited anxiously and patiently as they waited for contact to be established. Eventually the reply came. A video of a mechanic appeared on the screen, but the quality was horrible.

"SSV Normandy, can you read me?"

"This is Commander Shepard. I can hear you loud and clear."

"That's great. Our entire communications server was fried not too long ago. Everything just suddenly went blank."

"Any sign of the reapers?"

"No, not yet. But I think this is all too creepy."

"That's all right. We're sticking around for a bit."

The Normandy and a few other ships docked with the orbital space station to refuel. As Shepard called for the ships to stay the crews of various ships were taking a break. Shepard, however, was busy meeting with Mordin and Joker.

"Commander, I can't give you anymore predictions. It has come down to this. Waiting for them to make their move."

"I know you're doing the best you can Mordin. I'm not asking you to predict anything, I just need a scan of the planet."

"Why?" Mordin lifted a hand to his chin, "What would that uncover?"

"I still think a long range scan would show us more." Joker chimed in. "Something's coming in."

"What is it?"

Joker frowned at the readings. "It's one of ours. But we got no information about any other ships coming here."

"Careful, it may be a trap."

"It's coming in fast." Joker tapped on the console furiously, trying to predict the ship's course. "It's headed straight for us!"

"Evasive maneuvers!" Shepard shouted as Joker released the Normandy from the docking bay.

That's when it dropped out of slip space. A half broken ship, slowly floating towards the Normandy.

"That's what we picked up on our scanners?"

"I suppose it is Commander. Don't know what happened to it thought, they don't seem to be responding."

"That's because everyone on it is dead."

Not a moment too soon, five reapers dropped out of slip space. They broke formation once they realized Shepard and his team were there. Shepard's team instinctively sprung into action, targeting the nearest enemy and firing away. The reapers weren't interested in them, however, and headed straight for the planet.

"Admiral, We can't let them destroy that colony. Do you know how many millions are there?"

"I understand. Cruisers, draw fire away from the planet. Distract the reapers or something."

Three cruisers flew by the reapers, drawing its attention towards them. Following quickly after was a volley of shots from the dreadnaught, catching the reapers off guard. They responded with the expected lasers, emanating from the many tentacles. A laser blast caught the tail end of a frigate, shaving off its engineering section.

The Normandy, once fully free of the docking bay, joined the fight. Joker only managed to pull off a few shots of the main cannon before having to roll to the side to avoid an incoming blast. Meanwhile, the dreadnaught was able to do some serious damage at range thanks to its constantly firing mass accelerator cannons. The heavy hitting rounds tore holes in the reaper hull, forcing it to give up the fight.

"That's one down. Could you lend us some support from planet side?" Shepard tried to contact the space station.

"We don't have any armed ships. Only a few cargo ones."

"Well that space station has got to have some guns right? I'm giving you an override, get them working."

"Yes sir!"

The video screen disappeared and the view of the battle filled the room once more. They had lost a cruiser and a frigate so far, but the enemy had lost one reaper and had another immobile one. A few more volleys from the frigates and it eventually came apart. However, target one enemy, and you let your guard down to the rest. A few successive blasts from the other reapers and two cruisers went up in dust.

The other ships started taking evasive maneuvers to prevent the reapers from focusing too long on a single target, opening many opportunities for them to attck.

"This is taking too long. They'll have called for reinforcements long ago."

"We can't do anything about it." Joker spared a moment to turn back and look at Shepard "There's too few of us and too many of them. If the planet side guns were working that would be easier."

"Hmm. What about the new Quarian tech we got a week ago."

"The one that works like an overload? Yeah we have it, but its still experimental."

"Then this is the test. Fire it."

The Normandy broke away from its confusing path and made a beeline towards a reaper. Once it was in range the Normandy charged up the weapon while still trying to avoid attacks from the reaper. It wasn't long before a bright blue pulse emanated from the Normandy and hit the reaper spot on, blue crackles of electricity visible as the reaper's shields failed.

Shepard clung on to the railing, waiting in darkness for the auxiliary power to kick in, a result of using such a high powered device. The lights slowly flickered on as the Normandy's engines came back to life.

"That could have been better. If the blast didn't disable it we would have been dust by now." Shepard slowly let go of the railing, not realizing how tightly he had been clinging on to it.

"Hello, this is Joker from the SSV Normandy," Joker started to test communication while desperately turning on everything else "Can you hear me?" A short moment of static filled the cockpit before Joker realized that the pulse had fried their own communications as well.

"We can't contact the other ships through the cockpit, but long range communications should still work. I think I can get the holo-projecter in the meeting room working. Try to contact someone, the other ships or something, or maybe the even call for backup."

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

As Shepard left, the Normandy, now fully powered, fired up her engines and flew away from the now exploding reaper. The heavy battle continued as usual, with the three remaining reapers going on the offensive now. The reapers changed their tactics so that they all target the same target. It proved effective as when a ship dodges the first, they fail to anticipate the second, and the third just obliterates what's left. Eventually two cruisers fell prey to the trap before the dreadnaught could do decent enough damage to a reaper to disable it.

"Well, looks like they finally got the guns working." Joker mumbled after a few shot started coming from the space station. The armaments on board the space ship weren't suited to fight a reaper, but extra firepower to take down the heavy shields were always welcome.

"Oh no, the long range scanner shows that there's more of them on the way." It was only after turning around did he realize he had been talking to himself.

"Copy that. We're moving into defensive positions." A voice came over the radio.

"Well would you look at that, our communications are fixed." Joker grinned to himself and prepared the Normandy for another attack run.

The dreadnaught had already taken up a position closer to the space station, and the fire that was once on the lower deck had gone out. The frigates were doing all they could to distract the reapers and hopefully buy enough time for the heavy cannons on the dreadnaught to pull off enough shots.

Hopes of winning the skirmish were dashed when three more reapers burst into view. These reapers, however, ignored the frigates and targeted the dreadnaught straight away. Without enough maneuverability, the dreadnaught easily fell prey to the intensive beams fired by the reapers, cutting off parts of the ship.

"This is… calling… Normandy, can you… me?"

"Joker from the Normandy here. There's a lot of static on the line."

"We're… hull breach… going down… "

Multiple explosions occurs simultaneously aboard the dreadnaught, visible even from the Normandy. The ship lost all power and eventually drifted towards the planet, powerless against its gravitational pull. A bright flash marked the end of another frigate as the reapers slowly made advances toward the planet itself.

"Oh no, this is bad. I'm barely dodging everything here. I hope Shepard gets some good backup."

A couple of shots from the reapers and the space station was eventually obliterated. Now nothing stopped them from destroying the planet itself. A few blue flashes filled the space as more Alliance ships entered the battlefield, immediately opening fire on the reapers.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about." Almost immediately Shepard hurriedly walked back toward the cockpit.

"Joker, we need to leave this place, now."

"Why? Backup just got here." Joker swiveled his chair to face Shepard.

"I was talking to the council just now." Shepard looked hard at Joker

"Earth's under attack."


	45. Epilogue

Normandy SR3

"Can't sleep?" Garrus walked up to Tali and placed a hand on her shoulder. Even with the surprise she continued to stare out of the observation deck into the darkness of space.

"Something on your mind?" Garrus probed further since his first attempt at conversation garnered no response.

"Tali," Garrus turned her so his gaze met her helmet "this isn't the first time I've found you here at this time. You want to talk about it?"

"It's okay Garrus, I'm fine" Tali murmured quietly.

"No. I can tell you're troubled by something. It's okay, I have time." Garrus led Tali to a chair before reclining in another opposite her.

"Garrus I don't want to bore you with my problems. You should be sleeping too."

"Well," Garrus pushed himself upright and shrugged his shoulders, "what are friends for?" he replied with a chuckle.

"If you insist. I don't really know how to explain this, I," Tali paused to compose herself "I just feel really lost. I know all of you have been by my side through this, but I really feel lost and confused."

Garrus didn't reply, waiting for Tali to continue.

"It's already been eight years. Eight years since the end of the war, eight years since Cerberus took over, eight years in exile, eight years since," Tali stopped to allow herself a quiet sob "I lost Shepard."

"Tali you know that isn't your fault, none of this is. You of all people would know how brave Shepard was, giving up his life to protect us, to protect you."

"I know, it's just that, I never wanted any of this. All the running from Cerberus, not knowing where to go or what to do. I still remember. Shepard promised me that after the war we'll settle down on Rannoch, enjoy life. No more fighting no more running. But now, there really isn't much of a purpose anymore is there?"

"Tali, you need to get a hold of yourself. Think this through, what is there that you can do to improve the situation? We're all here with you, to the end, whatever that might be."

"There's no use. Cerberus will just hunt us down and kill us. We've all seen what they're capable of. They took down the Alliance and the Council so easily."

Tali turned to look out into space. The occasional sparkle of stars lighting up parts of the never-ending darkness.

"Mommy! Mommy! Come quick!" a high pitched shout caught hold of Tali's attention and brought her back to reality. Moments later Tasha came running in waving her omnitool excitedly. "Mommy! Look at this!"

Tali gently stroked her hand down Tasha's hair while leaning over her shoulder to see. "What is it Tasha?"

"I got my first message!"

"Is that what woke you up? Who is it from?"

"It's from Daddy!"


End file.
